Times
by 83doz
Summary: Time Traveling. What happens when Naruto meets a younger Tsunade and Jiraiya? What happens when he's the teacher of his own father? What happens when Naruto finds himself in the shinobi war? Come and see. No spoilers. :P
1. Ch 1:Faces

Author: 83doz

Rated: M so read at your own risk.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

2/7/07

**Chapter 1:Faces**

Today was a big day for Naruto.

It was around 10 o'clock at night and Naruto was standing on the roof of the academy school. Naruto had been 21 for a couple of months now and Tsunade, who he considered to be his mother, had just passed the torch of being a Hokage to him about a year ago. He was wearing a red and white hat and a white robe that came down just to his knees. Naruto's hair was still spiky, but it was a little longer now. There were two long yellow strands that came down from his side reaching the bottom of his neck. He kept these to remind him of his favorite Hokage, the Yondaime. He wore a green jounin vest and a blue pants underneath the white robes. The forehead protector stated that he was from the Hidden Village of Leaf, though everyone already knew that.

Naruto looked up at the Hokage monument. He looked at the Shodai, Nidaime, Sandaime, Yondaime, and Godaime. Naruto paused his stare when he got to the Yondaime. _I wonder what he thinks of me now._

He gave himself a smile and returned to what he was doing. Today was his day. The mountain carvers begged him to let them do his face, but he rejected saying that he would do it himself. He also told them not to worry about not getting paid because he would pay them without doing any work. All of the mountain carvers complained about it, stating that a Hokage shouldn't be doing these unimportant jobs. Naruto replied by saying that this was a very important thing for him and that he must to do it himself. With that they reluctantly agreed to let him do it himself.

Naruto did a few hand seals, "Shikan Shouheki (Silence Barrier)." A huge barrier surrounded a large piece of the mountain.

He did a few more hand seals, "Rando Haretsu (Land Explosion)." Huge pieces of rock were destroyed forming his face next to Tsunade's.

Naruto did a few more hand seals, "Yurasu Byouga (Rock Painting)." He looked up his face and smiled indicating that he was pleased with his work. Naruto's face was completely painted white with little red designs. His tongue was sticking out at Tsunade and his eyes were barely opened because he was sticking his tongue out.

"Okay, almost finished. Now I just have to protect it," Naruto said. He did a few hand seals, "Bakku Houka Gokuin (Back Fire Seal)." A red bubble appeared around Naruto's face and disappeared after 15 seconds.

After finishing he looked at his face for another 30 minutes. Finally, he decided that it was time to go home. Naruto didn't live in the small apartment complex anymore. He was living in a medium size house near the Hokage Tower.

Even though he was living by himself the two story house consisted of four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining room, a living room, a kitchen, and an office. As he went in he looked into his office and saw a huge pile of paper on his desk. This was one of the things he never imagine a Hokage doing; paper work. Naruto always imagined the Hokage doing S and A-rank missions. Because he was so tired he decided that he would finish it tomorrow instead.

--

The next day came and Naruto was already in his office at the Hokage Tower. One thing that he liked about being Hokage was that Teuchi or Ayame always brought him a bowl of ramen in the morning. Of course Teuchi or Ayame always insisted on giving free bowls for Naruto, but Naruto always paid them. He always paid more than the amount because he knew that they had to travel pretty far to give him the ramen. Naruto had bought them a better and bigger location near Hokage Tower when he became Hokage and their busines bloomed, but it was still a far walk to the Hokage Tower. Morning ramen wasn't his only reason for buying them a new location. He felt that he owed them for feeding him when they also knew of the Kyuubi. They never banished him from their place like other businesses. He knew that because they've accepted him when he was young, they have also lost a lot of business.

"Hey Ayame. Thanks for coming by so early today," Naruto said to her. He looked at Ayame who was a little older now. She was 26 years old, but still very pretty. He always thought that she was pretty long ago and very nice. _Now that we're both mature and the age difference didn't affect us as much, maybe…_

"No need for thanking me Hokage-sama," she replied interrupting his thoughts. This was one of the things he hated when he became Hokage. Everybody called him Hokage or Hokage-sama and it irritated him. Even his long time friends called him by this name now.

She placed the bowl on his desk and began to leave. Before she got out the door she reached into her pockets. Naruto had placed a wad of cash in her pocket and she didn't even realize it, but she knew he would do something like that.

"We can't take this Hokage-sama. You've already did all that you could for us," Ayame said to him.

"First off, stop calling me Hokage-sama Ayame. You should know by now that I'm still Naruto. You've known my since we were little. Second, don't worry about the money. It's business right? I ordered some ramen and I have to pay for it. I can't make rules and disobey them. If I don't pay for it then it'll be stealing," Naruto told her.

She thanked Naruto and left for the door.

Before she got out she turned around and smiled, "I like you're face on the mountain, but I don't think Tsunade-sama would approve of it."

Naruto smiled back and answered, "Not like she could do anything about it."

Tsunade came into the room about 30 minutes later with a couple of books. Naruto was busy assigning ranks to the new missions. Tsunade was older, but still looked exactly the same. She was also Naruto's advisor now. He stood up to greet her and he was a little taller than her now. When she entered the room she didn't acknowledge his greeting but instead said in a calm, but serious tone, "Naruto I want you to change your face on the mountain right now."

"No, I like it. I don't want to change it," Naruto replied looking at his paper work.

"Change it Naruto," Tsunade said louder this time, placing the books on the shelf.

"Why are you worried about that? Let's finish this paper work."

"Fine, I'll change it myself," Tsunade turned to the door and was about to leave.

"I wouldn't do that Tsunade-baba. I put a seal on it just for you," Naruto said smiling.

"What!? You put a seal on your face."

"Yes," Naruto still had his smile.

"Fine, I'll just get Jiraiya to remove it," she told him in a victorious voice.

"Go ahead, he won't do it once he finds out how it works."

"What would happen if a child decided to play on your face?" Tsunade asked him, reminding him of his pranks when he was a little child.

"Oh nothing. As long as they don't have the intent of removing my artwork, they can do all that they want to the face. It only activates when a person wants to remove the artwork, like for example you," Naruto told her.

Tsunade was furious. She knew that she was defeated and there wasn't anything that she could do. "If I can't change that face I'll change the one sitting in front of me." She rolled back her sleeves and rushed towards him.

Tsunade rushed forward to hit him, but before she reached him, he had already jumped up to the ceiling. Naruto was hanging upside down looking down at Tsunade. He knew that she wouldn't follow him. Not that she couldn't, but because she choose not too. This was one of the few things he learned that saved him from Tsunade's wrath.

--  
_Flashback_

Naruto and Tsunade were in the academy training room sparring with each other.

"Come on Naruto fight back. All you're doing is dodging," Tsunade said to him.

_Yeah, I would if I could, but all I can do is dodge. _The reason that Naruto couldn't counter-attack well was because he was dodging all of Tsunade's attack. It is easier to counter-attack after blocking instead of dodging, but blocking was not a choice when fighting Tsunade.

Tsunade was pressing him near the wall now.

_I don't have much room left. _He jumped back towards the wall and did a couple of flips to the ceiling. He held his defensive stance waiting for Tsunade's attack, but to his surprise she didn't come. Naruto looked down on the floor and saw that Tsunade was still there.

"Come down here now Naruto," Tsunade commanded him.

"Why don't you come up?" Naruto asked her.

"Just come down here," Tsunade yelled at him.

Naruto laughed and remained on the ceiling. Just then he felt the ceiling shook because Tsunade had just hit the wall. His feet lost its grip on the ceiling and he started falling down. _Uh oh, _Naruto thought to himself.

--

Naruto figured out why she didn't like to go on the ceiling. She didn't like people looking at her huge breast and when she went on the ceiling it made it seem even bigger because of the gravity. Naruto thought that this was a real stupid reason for not going on the ceiling, but was glad that Tsunade didn't like being upside down. This had saved him more than once.

"Come down now Naruto," she commanded him.

"Promise that you won't hurt me."

"Fine, I promise that I won't hurt you," Tsunade answered him.

Naruto jumped down from the ceiling and landed on his feet after she promised.

"Don't you know what kind of example you're giving when the other villages visit the Hidden Leaf? They'll mock us when they see what kind of a person we picked for our Hokage," Tsunade explained to him trying to make him change his mountain face.

"Why are you worrying? They already know who I am. They won't care about my face on some stupid mountain," Naruto told her.

During his year in office, he managed to bring peace to all the major shinobi villages. They all had respect for him, not only because he was strong, but also because he was also righteous.

"That's not the point. They know who you are, but the future Kage's won't," she told him. She knew this was a lie because everyone knew a Kage no matter what village they came from, but she was still trying to make Naruto change his mind.

"You worry to much about the future, Tsunade-baba. They'll already remember me by then anyways. They won't care much about a stupid face on the mountain," he explained to her.

Just then he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Naruto said and the person came in. It was Konohamaru.

"Hey Naruto, there's something at our last battle. I think you should check it out," Konohamaru told him.

The last battle could only mean one thing to Naruto. It was the last time that he and his friends were truly in great danger. It was when they were all facing Akatsuki in a cave near the border of the Country of Fire. Konohamaru and his trio were also involved in this major battle.

Konohamaru was taller now and wore a black vest and a black pants. He carried a long black pole behind his back. His hair was also longer now. He received a medium sized scar right below his left eye when he saved Naruto from the AL. Konohamaru was one of the few people who still called him Naruto and he liked that. He was a jounin now and very talented just like his grandfather. After the death of his grandfather and uncle, Konohamaru worked very hard to become the best shinobi that he could and it showed. Naruto could see that he lost some of his happiness and goofiness when he lost his grandfather and uncle, but he could see that Konohamaru still cared very much for his friends. After his grandfather and uncle died Naruto looked after him like an older brother and they became even closer because of this.

"Alright let's go then," Naruto told him. He took of his Hokage robe and hat.

"Wait, you have paper work," Tsunade said to him.

"Ummm, you can finish it," Naruto replied. He grabbed his orange jacket and ran out the door.

"Naruto, damn you," Tsunade yelled after him when he left the office.

They were hopping from branch to branch outside of the village when Naruto asked Konohamaru, "So what did you guys find?"

"I don't know. It looks like a small ball of energy. I don't really know what it is," Konohamaru told him.

"Did you guys touch it or do anything to it?" Naruto asked.

"No, not yet. Neji tried using his Byakugan on it, but he couldn't see what it was. Sasuke also used his Sharingan, but it was the same result," Konohamaru responded.

The excitement was getting to Naruto. Even though he was happy that the 5 major shinobi villages were at peace, the missions were getting boring. The thought of something unknown got his blood pumping.

"You're getting excited, aren't you Naruto?" Konohamaru could feel that something was making Naruto excited.

"Yes, if Neji and Sasuke don't know what it is then it must be something big," Naruto answered him.

"Who's all there?" Naruto asked as they were still traveling.

"Well, my teammates are there. The rookie 9, team Gai, and the sand siblings are there. They were the one's that found it," Konohamaru answered.

_The whole gang that faced Akatsuki, _Naruto thought.

--

_Back in the office at Hokage Tower_

Jiraiya opened the door. He was a little bit older now, but overall still looked the same.

"Don't you know it's rude not to knock first," Tsunade told him. She was sitting on the Naruto's chair and going through the pile of papers.

"Aren't we a good assistant? I just came by to see my former student. I saw his face on the mountain," Jiraiya laughed.

"I'm not his assistant, I'm his advisor and his face isn't a laughing matter Jiraiya. Can you change it or unseal it?" Tsunade asked him while still sorting the pile of papers.

"No, I looked at the seal when I passed by and it's pretty advance. It can only be unsealed by the user. If I tried to unseal it, I might get hurt in the process," Jiraiya told her.

"What will happen to you if you unseal it?" Tsunade asked him.

"I don't know. That depends on what Naruto has done to it. It could cause major pain or be almost nothing at all. I don't want to take my chances though," he answered.

Tsunade frowned. _Stupid Naruto, putting a high rank seal on his face._

"Anyways, where's our favorite student?" Jiraiya asked her.

"He left to where his real last battle was," Tsunade answered. Jiraiya knew what she was talking about.

"Well, it does seem about that time. Don't you think?" Jiraiya asked her.

Tsunade answered in a small voice more to herself, "Yes, it does."

--

Naruto and Konohamaru reached the place where they fought the Akatsuki members. It was already dark when they got there. The statue was still there. It had a face with 9 eyes, 8 of which were still glowing. It was wooden and had two arms coming out of the ground with a chain binding it together.

"Hey guys," Naruto said as he got there.

"So you decided to come Hokage-sama," Neji said.

"Damn you guys. I'm going to make a new rule now since you guys won't listen to what I say. You all cannot call me that anymore. Call me Naruto, understand," Naruto said to the group. The group just looked at him.

"Got it?" Naruto said a little louder.

They all nodded. He looked at the tiny sphere to examine it. It was the size of a fist and completely black, but he could tell that the sphere was spinning, much like one of his trademark moves.

"Okay, now that it's settled. What do we have Neji?" Naruto asked him.

"Sorry Naruto, but I can't see it. It seems like some sort of chakra manipulation. It also seems like there is a huge chakra pool in this tiny little sphere," he answered him.

Neji was right; Naruto could feel the chakra pressure from the sphere when he started walking closer to it.

"What do you think Shikamaru?" Naruto asked the young man in the back.

"It's what Neji said. We don't know what it is, but it's something big," Shikamaru answered.

Another cold voice came from behind Naruto, "Even though we're at peace with the other villages I don't think they should know about this."

"I agree with you Gaara," Naruto answered.

Naruto reached towards the spinning chakra sphere.

"What are you doing Naruto?" Sakura asked him in a loud voice.

She was genuinely worried. They started dating about 5 years ago when they were 16. The relationship lasted 2 years and the both decided to break it off. Unlike most couples they were still friends after breaking up. In fact it made their friendship even stronger. The relationship was good for the both of them because they found out that they were better as friends instead of lovers.

Naruto looked at Sakura, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to see what it is."

"You don't know what will happen. What happens if you die?" Ino asked him in a worried voice.

Naruto laughed, "Well, we won't know if we just stand here now would we."

"This isn't something to laugh about Naruto," Ino replied.

"Let him," Gaara said.

"What do you mean Gaara? He could die you know," Ino answered him. After the fight with Akatsuki everyone felt a little more comfortable around Gaara.

"Look, the only other way that we can find out what it does is have one of you touch it. I know that Naruto and I don't want that, so it'll be one of us. Since Naruto's so interested in it, he can touch it. Most likely nothing will happen."

"But what if something does happen?" Ino asked.

Naruto decided to answer, "If something does happen to me, you guys will tell Tsunade and Jiraiya what happened here. Also she should become Hokage again if something does happen," Naruto told the group. He wanted Konohamaru to become the next Hokage, but felt that he was still a little too young.

"Also Gaara you know what to do," Naruto said. Gaara nodded. He would have to keep the nations together if something wrong happened.

"Okay here we go," Naruto said. He reached out his right hand and touched the sphere. Naruto went completely black and fell down.

--

It was about an hour before Naruto got up. He looked around and saw that he was still in the same place, though the statue wasn't there anymore or his friends. Naruto was a little weak trying to get up, but managed to do so. After a few minutes he felt that something was wrong with him.

_Hey fox, you there?_ He received no answer. _Stupid fox answer me. _Again he didn't receive an answer. This confirmed his suspicion; the fox would always threaten him when he called it stupid. He walked out the cave and to his surprise it was daylight. The sun suggested that it was around 12 o'clock.

With nothing else to do he decided that he would head back home and see if his friends were there. _Maybe they're giving their report to Tsunade_. _Maybe they thought I died._

It was late at night and he still hasn't reached the Hidden Village of Leaf. He was jumping from branch to branch when he felt two kunais coming at him. Naruto immediately jumped back to avoid the kunais. He felt two chakras trying to circle him, one going to his right while the other going to his left. The two figures jumped towards Naruto at the same time with their kunai trying to stab his chest. He immediately dodged it and chopped the figure to his right on his neck and punched the figure on the left in the stomach. Both of the figures fell down immediately. Examining their forehead protector and he found out that they were from the Hidden Village of Sand.

"Damn you Gaara. I know you want to keep me in top shape, but don't you think that was a little unnecessary? I could feel that they really wanted to kill me," Naruto said out loud cursing Gaara. Even though the nations weren't at war anymore, Gaara would sometimes send shinobis after Naruto just to keep him on his toes. He knew that Gaara didn't really want to kill him, just keep him ready in case one of villages decided to rebel against the peace treaty.

Naruto continued on his path to the Hidden Village of Leaf. It was about another hour when he felt two familiar chakras. He gave himself a smile knowing that Jiraiya had come to visit.

"Hey ero-sennin, Tsunade-baba," Naruto yelled and waved as he came closer to the two figures.

Suddenly he felt the killer intent in both Jiraiya and Tsunade. Jiraiya immediately sent his hair towards Naruto. Naruto was too shocked to dodge and was caught by Jiraiya's hair. Tsunade quickly ran up to Naruto ready to punch him on the face. _Focus Naruto or you'll die, _Naruto thought and he focused all this chakra to where she was going to connect. The hit sent Naruto 40 feet while Jiraiya's hair was still holding on Naruto. _Damn, they're serious. Maybe they had a little too much to drink, _Naruto thought.

Tsunade could still feel that the other person was still alive. _What!? He took a direct hit from one of my punches to the face. He should be dead, _Tsunade thought to herself.

Naruto managed to reach a kunai in his pocket and cut Jiraiya's hair to free himself.

"Doton: Yomi Numa (Swamp of the Underworld)." A huge swamp appeared under Naruto and everything about a ½ mile radius was starting to sink. Naruto was still 40 feet from the two. He jumped on top of a tree and did a few hand seals, "Kage Bunshin." A clone appeared by him. He sent the clone towards Jiraiya.

Jiraiya was watching the enemy come towards him. _It seemed that he already knew what my move does. _The enemy was getting closer and Jiraiya took a defensive stance. As the enemy came about 15 feet from him, the shinobi disappeared. Before Jiraiya could react, Naruto's clone had punched him in the stomach snf Jiraiya fell down to the ground.

_Too fast, _Tsunade thought. She was 10 feet to Jiraiya's right and saw how fast the enemy was. The shinobi was looking at her now. Tsunade punched the ground and it cracked which caused the shinobi to lose hit footing. Taking this advantage she rushed towards him and punched him in the face once more.

'Pop.' Tsunade's eyes widen. _A clone? _Just then Naruto gave her a chop to the neck.

Naruto grabbed Tsunade by the waist before she could fall to the ground and gently laid her down. He jumped back to where Jiraiya was at and put Jiraiya's arms under the back of his neck. _Did you go on a diet ero-sennin? Funny, I don't smell any sake on him. _He shrugged off the thought.

With Jiraiya on his back he jumped to Tsunade and laid him right by her. He looked at the two figures and an evil thought came to his head which made him laugh. Naruto put Jiraiya's arm around Tsunade and did the same thing with Tsunade. He put them real close together. _That'll teach them, messing with me._ He laughed to himself.

Another thought came to him. _They might catch a cold out here. _Naruto took a knee and placed his jacket on top of them.

_I should be about an hour away from the office. _He stood back up and began traveling again.

Naruto reached the front gates and to his surprise no one was there. _Maybe everyone's asleep. It is kind of late. _He jumped over the walls and quickly ran across the roofs to the Hokage Tower. _I have so much paper work to finish._

When he reached the office he was surprise to see that someone was already there. The person was busy looking down at some papers and he was also wearing the Hokage robes.

_Jutsu descriptions:_

**Shikan Shouheki: Silence Barrier**- (C-rank) A ninjutsu that cast a barrier around an object. This barrier doesn't do anything except for not letting sound escape from it.

**Rando Haretsu: Land Explosion**- (C-rank) A ninjutsu that blows up a large piece of land. It is used mainly for shaping land.

**Yurasu Byouga: Rock Painting**- (C-rank) A ninjutsu that paints rocks.

**Bakku Houka Gokuin: Back Fire Seal**- (A-rank) A sealing jutsu that seals a particular thing. It keeps the image in this condition until the seal is released. The seal can only be remove by the user. If another person tries to remove the seal then they'll be in for a nasty surprise.

**Doton: Yomi Numa: Swamp of the Underworld**- (A-rank) A ninjutsu that forms a huge swamp that begins to make everything in it sink. This jutsu is in the manga.

**Kage Bunshin: Shadow Clone- **(B-rank) Yea the shadow clone.


	2. Ch 2:Meeting

2/8/07

**Chapter 2:Meeting**

Orochimaru felt his two teammates' chakra just disappeared and decided to go there to see what was wrong. For a second he thought that he also felt another person's chakra. When he reached the placed where he felt his teammate's chakra disappear he saw that Jiraiya and Tsunade we're lying together under the most disgusting thing he saw, an orange jacket.

He gave them each a slight kick to wake them up.

To their horror, they were holding each other. Immediately they moved away from each other and stood up.

"I know you need Jiraiya for a rebound because you've lost Dan, Tsunade. But the ugly jacket has got to go," Orochimaru said to them both.

"We weren't doing anything Orochimaru," Tsunade replied in a venomous tone.

Orochimaru gave them a smile indicating that he didn't believe her.

"We have no time. An enemy just attacked us and he might be heading towards our sensei right now," Jiraiya said to both Orochimaru and Tsunade.

The thought of someone besting both Jiraiya and Tsunade at the same time excited Orochimaru.

"Let's go," Orochimaru said and they took off to the Hokage Tower.

--

_Hokage Tower_

"Sarutobi-sensei?" Naruto said when he assessed the man.

The man looked up and gave stared at Naruto curiously for a second.

He couldn't believe it with his own eyes. Naruto was sure that it was Sarutobi. He's been looking at the mountain faces ever since he was young and there was no mistaking it. Sarutobi still had a lot of hair unlike how Naruto remembered him. His hair was also brown and spiky. Sarutobi still had his goatee, but it was also brown instead of the white that Naruto remembered. He also didn't have any wrinkles yet. Naruto saw a little line coming down right at the corner of Sarutobi's eyes.

_He looks like 30 years old or so, _Naruto thought.

Sarutobi looked at the young man. He figured that the man was around 20 or so. Even though he had a Konoha forehead protector Sarutobi has never seen his face before.

"And you are?" Sarutobi asked him. "I don't ever remember seeing you." Sarutobi already had his hand in his pocket holding a kunai in case of an ambush. Of course everyone knew his name, who wouldn't know his name?

Naruto didn't know what to say. What can he say? He lost his words when he saw Sarutobi.

"Hi, my name is Uzumaki Naruto and uh…" Naruto said.

Sarutobi didn't sense anything harmful coming from the young man so let his guard down a little bit. He sensed that the young man was more confused than anything else.

"I see that you have a Konoha forehead protector, but I don't ever recall see your face before. Where are you from?" Sarutobi asked him.

Naruto told him about touching the black sphere and getting knocked out afterwards. He also told him how some sand-nins had attack him while he was traveling back towards Konoha. Naruto also mentioned his encounter with Jiraiya and Tsunade. He decided to leave out the detail about the Kyuubi though.

"Well, that was quite a story," Sarutobi said to him.

Naruto sighed. Of course it seemed like a ridiculous story. He didn't even believe it himself, how could he expect Sarutobi to believe him?

"I'm sorry if it sounds like I don't believe you, but do you have any proof to your story. I can't just go believing anyone," Sarutobi said.

Naruto thought for a moment. _How can I prove that I'm from the future?_ Then it hit him. He reached for neck and took out a necklace.

"Tsunade gave me that in the future. I've held on to it ever since," Naruto said happily. He handed the green jewel necklace it to Sarutobi.

Sarutobi looked at the necklace and there was no doubt that it was Tsunade's necklace.

Even though it would seem weird for anyone knowing about Tsunade's necklace, Sarutobi still wanted a little more proof. He gave the necklace back to Naruto, "I'm sorry, but you said you confronted Tsunade. You could have killed her and took the necklace and claimed that she gave it to you."

This idea did seem a little far-fetched even for Sarutobi because it would be hard to kill Tsunade without being injured.

Naruto thought for a while. This time it was a lot longer than before. Naruto snapped his fingers and reached inside the pocket of his vest. He took out a small scroll and put it on the desk.

"Jiraiya gave me this. It was the first move that he thought me," Naruto said.

Sarutobi opened the scroll and it had names on it. It was the names of the people that had sign the frog contract. While Sarutobi didn't have a contract with the frogs, he immediately recognized the scroll because it was him who gave Jiraiya the frog contract to sign. The signatures were identical to the one he gave Jiraiya except it had two extra names on it. He was surprised when he saw the name that was before Naruto's.

Base on the fact that Jiraiya rarely carried the scroll with him and that the scroll had another name that was from Konoha, Sarutobi believed his story.

"Well Naruto, as weird as your story sound this does prove your from a different time-line," Sarutobi said.

Naruto gave a relieved sigh when heard Sarutobi. He didn't know what else could prove that his story was true.

"Right now we are at war Naruto. The Hidden Village of Leaf is at war with the 3 other nations: The Hidden Village of Sand, The Hidden Village of Rock, and The Hidden Village of Cloud. They have an ally agreement and that's why the sand-nins attacked you. Did you kill them?"

"No, during my time the Hidden Village of Sand are our allies," Naruto replied in a small voice.

_Well, that couldn't be helped_, Sarutobi thought.

"We do need more shinobis right now and you would be welcome to join us if you want."

Naruto nodded his head. He would protect the Hidden Village of Leaf no matter what time-line he was in.

"So, just tell me your rank from before you came here and I'll give you that position," Sarutobi said.

Naruto pause for a second

"Well, I'm the Rokudaime," Naruto answered.

Sarutobi's eyes widen and smiled when he heard Naruto's answer. _So this is the 6th Hokage?_

"Well, I guess I lied. I can't give you that position," Sarutobi laughed. "It would be weird if someone that no one knows replaces me."

"I guess you can be a jounin then. Is that alright with you Naruto?"

Naruto smiled, "Yes that's okay."

Just then the door slammed open and Naruto turned around to see who it was. He saw Jiraiya and Tsunade and they were a lot younger, about his age. Jiraiya hasn't grown his ponytail yet, but Naruto could see that he was starting to. The hair reached his lower traps. He was wearing a green vest. Underneath he wore a red long sleeve shirt. His pants were complete black and his kunai holder was one his right leg. Jiraiya didn't wear a forehead protector, in fact none of them did.

Tsunade looked even younger than her fake genjutsu that she uses on herself later in the future. She hairstyle was the same pigtail style, only the hair was a little longer. She wore a fishnet underneath her purple short sleeve shirt. She covered this outfit with a blue vest. Tsunade also wore the same blue pants that all shinobi wore. She also wore her kunai holder on her right leg.

To his surprise he saw Orochimaru behind them. _Snake-man's alive? _Orochimaru was wearing a black long sleeve shirt underneath his purple vest. His face was a lot younger than Naruto remembered. He had dark gray pants and taped the bottom half of his leg.

Without thinking Naruto immediately grabbed a kunai from his pocket and threw it at Orochimaru's face. Jiraiya grabbed the kunai before it even came close to Orochimaru. The 3 immediately got in their fighting stance.

"Just like we suspected, he's trying to murder sensei," Jiraiya said.

The trio was just about to charge Naruto when Sarutobi stepped between them and Naruto.

"Stop it, you three. I can take care of myself. I need to speak with this individual some more. Can you leave us?" Sarutobi told them.

"But sensei," Jiraiya said.

He was interrupted by Sarutobi, "I said don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. I trust this person and you should leave, we have some private things to talk about."

_Did I just hear sensei right? He said that he trust this stranger, _Tsunade thought to herself.

"Did you put him in a genjutsu?" Jiraiya yelled at Naruto.

"Of course he didn't. Do you sense anything strange?" Orochimaru responded.

Orochimaru began to leave.

"You're just going to leave this stranger with our sensei!?" Jiraiya said to Orochimaru.

"Didn't you hear what sensei said or are you deaf? He said for us to leave them alone," Orochimaru said as he was walking further down the hall. Tsunade followed and so did Jiraiya, but before leaving both of them gave Naruto an intense look of distrust.

Sarutobi closed the door, "I'm sorry about my students. They can get quite rowdy sometimes."

Naruto nodded stating that he understood.

--

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were walking together down the hall.

"So what do you guys think?" Jiraiya asked them.

"I thought he was pretty weak as first because I didn't sense any killing intent coming from him, but I sure was wrong," Tsunade said.

Orochimaru smiled when he heard this and said in a cocky tone mainly to Jiraiya, "Well, it looks like he knows a great shinobi when he sees one. He had an intent to kill me when he threw that kunai."

"Shut-up," Jiraiya said.

He knew this was true though. The young man had intended to kill Orochimaru. Also, that shinobi could have killed him already if he wanted to while he was knocked out. Jiraiya was furious, Orochimaru had beaten him once again and this time he didn't even have to lift a finger.

--

"So where were we before my students interrupted us," Sarutobi said, mainly to himself.

"Oh yes, our short supplies of shinobis. I'm pretty sure you've already taken a genin squad because you're a Hokage so it'll be good if you can train a new squad."

"Sorry, but I was never a jounin instructor."

Sarutobi was surprised, "What? It's one of the requirements before becoming a Hokage. Are you guys that easy going during your time?"

Naruto had no answer.

"Well, it looks like you'll get some experience then. You be taking care of team 3. I'll leave it up to you whether you pass them or not. Go to room 115 at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning. I'm sure you know where the room is at."

Naruto gave him a nod.

Sarutobi said to Naruto, "We don't have much room except a couple of rooms in the orphanage area. I know that it's not what you're used to, but I hope that you don't mind it there."

Naruto thought back to his younger years, "I don't mind Sarutobi-sensei."

He gave him a key. There was a number on the key tag.

"It's on the second floor."

Naruto knew exactly where it was because it was his old house.

"We should also change your last name just in case someone might know you're surname. What do you want it to be then?"

Naruto thought for a moment. He liked his surname, but Sarutobi was right. "How about Takahashi?"

Sarutobi thought for a moment, "Sure, no one in this village has the surname. From now on you'll be Takahashi Naruto. Everything you do during this time period would be put under that name. I'll make you an identification card tomorrow. Just come by and get it. How old are you?"

"I'm 21," Naruto said.

Sarutobi smiled, "Don't be lying your age now just so you can buy sake."

"I'm not Sarutobi-sensei," Naruto replied.

"Fine, I believe you."

Sarutobi reached into his pocket. He took out a wad of cash and two bells.

"What's this for?" Naruto asked.

"That's to get you some supplies for the house. There won't be any shop open right now, but I'm sure you can get a few supplies tomorrow. I'm sure you know what the two bells are for," Sarutobi answered.

Naruto thanked him and went to the door.

"Wait Naruto. I know this sounds real stupid since you're a Hokage and all, but we should keep your history just between us two for right now."

Naruto turned around and nodded his head.

He left outside and looked at the faces on the mountain. There were only 3 faces. _I didn't even notice it. _He really was in a different time period.

When he got to his old apartment, he opened the door and saw that nothing was inside. The kitchen was to his left and the living room was straight ahead. The apartment had a single bedroom and a single bathroom. The only supply was an old refrigerator and a small stove in the kitchen.

It was getting pretty late now and he decided that it was time to sleep. Naruto reached in his pocket and took out a scroll. He did a few hand seals, "Unseal." A sleeping bag, a pillow, a toothbrush, and some soap popped into existence. Naruto laid in his sleeping bag thinking to himself, _I don't even know my new students yet. I should have gotten the information when I was still in the office. Oh well, guess I'll find out tomorrow._

_--_

Naruto got up and went to the grocery store to get some food. He came back to the house with some eggs, steak, bacon, orange juice, vegetables, fruits, and of course a whole lot of ramen. He decided to shower before cooking his breakfast. It was about 8:30 when he finished showering and eating.

As he walked out the door something caught the corners of his eyes. It was a little boy around the age 6. He had just run around the corner of the building with his arms swinging wildly sideways while holding a forehead protector. Naruto was just barely able to see the boy because he had ran around the corner, but Naruto picked up a few details. He was wearing a white sweater that had a blue stripe coming down from the shoulders. The boy was also wearing a blue pants with his leg taped and blue sandals. The most noticeable feature though was his hair. It was yellow similar like Naruto's. His hair was also spiky just like Naruto's and it also had two long bangs that came down his side.

There was no doubt in his mind who this was, it was the Yondaime. It was his father. He learned about his father after he became the Rokudaime. Somehow, Naruto always knew in the back of his mind why he was chosen to bear the Kyuubi, but it was actually confirmed that day when Tsunade named him Hokage and he had the right to check the files.

Naruto almost collapsed from the shock. He grabbed his chest and dropped down to a knee and his breaths were heavy. Naruto never met his father before and the thought of meeting him never even crossed his mind when he was sent back in time. It took him a while to get back up. He took a few more breaths and finally stood up. He knew that he couldn't get close to his father even though he really wanted to because it might be catastrophic if Yondaime found out who he was.

He went to the academy to room 115. When he opened the door he saw 3 kids. He also saw that the Yondaime was one of the kids and a jolt went up his spine.

"Hi, I'm your new jounin instructor," Naruto said.

They all gave him an interesting look.

"Let's go on the roof so I can get to know you all better," Naruto told them. They nodded and followed him. _Okay… guess I will get to know him. Just stay calm now, Naruto._

When they reached the roof Naruto was leaning on rails.

"So, let's get to know one another," Naruto said to them.

"What do you want to know sensei?" asked the little girl. She had black hair that she tied up in a bun. She wore a purple short dress that went down to her knees.

"Stuff like your names, hobbies, goals, and dreams," Naruto said.

"How about you first," Naruto pointed a young boy that had short brown hair. He was wearing a black short sleeve shirt and black shorts. His eyes were almost completely closed. His face had a round shape, almost chubby, but not quite there yet.

"My name is Saitou Seishin. My hobby is playing ninja. One of my goals is to be a good father to my future family," Seishin said in a loud voice.

The girl immediately answered in a low voice when Seishin was finished, "Hi, I'm Kobayashi Kioko. My hobbies are drawing, painting, and reading books. One of my goals is to become a strong female shinobi. My dream is also related to my goal so that's it."

"I'm Nakashima Arashi. My hobby is training. My goal and dream is to become the best shinobi that I can so that I can protect my important people," Arashi said.

"What about you sensei?" Kioko asked.

"My name is Takahashi Naruto. My hobbies are training and eating. My goal and dream is to be able to one day shake the hands of my enemy without any grudge between us."

Arashi raised his right and Naruto nodded for him to speak.

"I've never seen you here before. We know all the jounins and I don't ever remember you." The other 2 nodded in agreement.

_They know all the jounins? Damn, I didn't even know who was a jounin or chuunin when I graduated except for Iruka_.

"I was on a long mission," Naruto lied, not knowing what else to say. Luckily they didn't question him further.

"Okay, is that it? Are you guys ready for your first test then?"

"I thought we went through all the test already at the academy?" Seishin asked Naruto.

Naruto smiled again, "That was just to see if you were qualified to become genins. It doesn't mean that you will become genins. If you fail this test, then you go back to the academy."

All of their eyes grew larger when they heard this.

"So are you guys ready? Get your gears and meet me at training ground 6," Naruto told the group. They nodded.

Naruto went to the training ground first. There was a huge field about the size of a football that was surrounded by many trees. There was also a huge river.

_Did fate bring us together?_

He was still thinking to himself when he felt three familiar chakras coming towards him. Arashi, Seishin, and Kioko landed on the open field where Naruto stood.

The team saw Naruto take out two bells.

"You're objective is simple. Retrieve the bell before 11 o'clock and you pass. Fail to get the bell and you fail. Two of you might pass or maybe no one will pass. Come at me with everything you have or you won't get it," Naruto told the group. He tied the two bells on his waist.

"Are you sure?" Arashi asked him.

"Yes, that's why I told you to get your gear," Naruto said.

"Okay, begin."

The three immediately went behind them towards the trees. Naruto also jumped behind him to the other side. He made a clone and sent him out.

They were all squatting on a tree branch.

"So, do you think we can get the bells?" Seishin asked the group.

"I don't know. One of us will get the axe though," Arashi said.

"It's okay, we're all friends. No hard feelings for the one that doesn't get the bell okay," Kioko said to them.

They all nodded.

"Do you guys have a plan?" Kioko asked them.

Arashi snapped his fingers, "Okay, got it. Here's what we'll do." He told them the plan.

"Everybody got it?" Arashi asked.

"Yea," said Kioko and Seishin.

"Let's go," Arashi said and they left.

Naruto was lying down on a high branch. _So that's what they're doing. Pretty good considering they don't know that much jutsus. I'll guess I'll play along with them. _He knew that there was no way they could get the bells from him, but it didn't matter because he also knew that they passed the test already. Naruto still wanted to test how strong they were though.

Kioko, Seishin, and Arashi came out into the field. They ran towards the clone trying to attack it. The clone easily blocked and dodged all their attacks.

Meanwhile the real Kioko, Seishin, and Arashi were going to the tree where Naruto was located. They had sent clones of themselves to face Naruto's clone.

They were at the tree squatting and watching the fight. They were waiting for a moment when Naruto would drop his guard.

_Now, _Arashi thought. He was going to rush Naruto when he felt something holding his right wrist.

"What is it? You made us miss our chance Kioko," Arashi said.

"It's a clone," Kioko answered him. She didn't know it was a shadow clone though. Naruto purposely did this to see if they would figure out that the clone wasn't him.

"How do you know?" Arashi asked.

"He hasn't even made contact with our clones yet," Kioko answered.

"What do we do know then?" Arashi asked.

"I know," Seishin said. He told them his plan.

"Where's he at though?" Kioko asked.

"Let's move around, we'll find him sooner or later," Seishin said.

Naruto felt that they were coming closer. _Good, they figured out that he was a fake. They're sending another set of clones after me._

The group split up, but they still close enough to each other to send hand signals.

Naruto was still lying on the branch when he saw the 3 of them jump at him and he immediately ran to the real ones. Naruto already figure out where they were hiding by sensing their chakra.

Even though they were about 40 feet from them he got there so quick that they couldn't react. Naruto was about 10 feet from Seishin. He pulled out two shurikens that were attached with a long wire. He threw it at Seishin and the wires wrapped around him which caused Seishin to fall to the floor.

"Seishin," said Kioko. She pulled out a kunai and jumped to his side to cut the wire.

Naruto was still 20 feet from them.

"Always be prepared that you're enemy might also know your plans," Naruto yelled to his team.

"Damn it, he already knew," Seishin said when he stood up.

"What now?" Arashi asked.

"We've got to attack," Kioko answered.

"Cover my back guys," Seishin told them. They nodded. He knew it might not do much, but he had to try. He ran towards Naruto and did a few hand seals, "Kanraku Irixyu-jon (Sinking Illusion)." Naruto immediately began sinking. He closed his eyes and focused, "Kai."

Kioko immediately ran after Seishin and did a few hand seals of her own, "Ki Shibu Kakuhan (Tree Branch Whip)." The tree behind Naruto immediately tried to strike Naruto. He managed to jump forward and dodge the tree. He turned his head back to look at the branch, _whew that was close._

When he turned around he could see that Arashi was almost at his stomach now. Arashi reached for the two bells with his right hand. Naruto's eyes became a little bigger. _Pretty fast_. Just as Arashi was going to grab the bells, Naruto turned his waist and Arashi just grabbed air.

"Ohh man," Kioko and Seishin said when they saw Arashi miss. They were holding their hands in prayer when Arashi was trying to grab the bells. Their hands immediately dropped when they saw that they missed.

Naruto smiled at the group, "Almost, but almost doesn't count."

Arashi jumped back to join the group. They were about 10 feet away from Naruto now.

"That's all I can do," Kioko said.

"Me too, I'm out of ideas. If Arashi couldn't get it then I don't know which one of us can," Seishin said.

"Are you guys giving up already?" Naruto asked them.

"Of course not," Arashi replied.

They all ran and attacked Naruto. He easily blocked their attacks. After a minute or so he jumped back about 15 feet to distance himself from them. _Let's see how fast you are then. _He took out three shurikens and threw it at Arashi. One straight at him while the other two lower and to each of Arashi's side. He didn't throw it at his fullest potential, but it was still pretty fast.

Arashi saw the shurikens coming at him and immediately tried to dodge it by going to his left side, but he lost his footing and began to fall.

Naruto's eyes became wider. He looked at the lower shuriken that he threw. _Oh no, he's not going to make it, _Naruto thought. As the shurikens came closer to Arashi, he closed his eyes getting ready for the impact and he felt two bodies covering him.

Naruto immediately dashed in front of Arashi and blocked the shuriken with the palm of his right hand. The shuriken made a deep hole in the palm of his hand and blood was dripping from his palm. He couldn't catch it, but it didn't matter, as long as his team wasn't injured. He turned around and could see Kioko and Seishin on top of Arashi, covering him with their bodies.

"Whew, that was close." Naurto said. He wiped his forehead with his uninjured hand. "Let's say we call it a day, shall we?"

They all looked up.

"We can't yet, we have to get the bells," Seishin said.

"If we stop now, none of us will pass. It's not time yet, we still have about 4 minutes left," Kioko pleaded.

Naruto made a grin. They really wanted to pass, "You all pass."

"What? We didn't get a bell," Kioko replied.

"That wasn't the purpose of this test. The purpose was to see if you would put the team goals before your personal goals. You guys worked as a team and that's all that mattered," Naruto told them.

"Yea, we all passed guys," Kioko told them.

Arashi and Seishin just smiled at her.

"I'll go to the office and see if there are any missions for us. I'll contact you if there are. As for know you're free to go home if you like. Team 3 is official," Naruto said to the group and gave them a thumb's up.

"Oh wait up," Naruto took out a seal and did a few hand seals. 'Poof' there was a camera in Naruto's hand.

"Since we're official now, we have to take our picture." He set the camera on a low branch and went behind the group. Arashi was in the middle and Kioko on his left side while Seishin on his right side. Everybody gave their biggest smile.

"Okay, now we're done," Naruto told the group.

He went to the Hokage Tower and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Sarutobi said and Naruto went inside.

Sarutobi gave Naruto his new identification card and ask, "So how did your team do?"

"That's why I'm here. They all passed and I was just wondering if there were any missions that you would like to assign to us."

Sarutobi sorted some of his paper, "Alright here's one. It's a C-class mission. You are to patrol the western border tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's daylight and there aren't that many enemies running around in daylight, but you still got to take caution."

Naruto frowned a little, "Don't you think a C-class mission is kind of high for a group of genins who barely passed their test today."

"Yes, but they have you with them. I'm sure you can handle this."

He knew why Naruto was asking, "There aren't a lot of D-class missions Naruto. Remember that we're at a time of war."

Naruto nodded, "I know where Arashi lives, but I don't know where Kioko and Seishin lives."

Sarutobi grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down their address. He gave the paper to Naruto.

Naruto left the Hokage office and thought about what to do with the rest of the day. Naruto decided that he would go to the store first to get some bandages and develop his pictures there. He would then buy some supplies for his house and go grocery shopping again, this time buying more things like some sauces, spices, and more vegetables. By that time the picture should be finished. After that he would go to the local restaurant to grab something to drink because he knew that he would need to relax. He would tell the team about the mission tomorrow.


	3. Ch 3:News

2/11/07

**Chapter 3:News**

The man arrived in town around 4 o'clock. He had just finished his mission and was going to the restaurant to catch the latest gossip around town. The man was 27 years old and had white hair that stood up. Even though his hair was spikey, each strand of hair was a lot thicker than Naruto's. He also had a ponytail that reached just below his armpits. The man carried a white blade behind his back. He wore a black long sleeve shirt that had a white canine tooth design on each shoulder. He wore a green jounin vest and blue pants which also had a white canine tooth for a design. He wore his forehead protector in the normal way. His name was Hatake Sakumo.

Sakumo opened the door and walked in. _There sure are a lot of people in restaurant today._ He heard people talking, but couldn't make anything out because too many people were talking at the same time.

He saw his former students and went to sit by them.

"So Shibi, what's the latest gossip in town?" Sakumo asked his former student.

Aburame Shiba was 12 years old and a chuunin. He wore a tan jacket that covered most of his mouth and wore his forehead protector the normal way. Shiba always wore black sunglasses that covered his eyes. He sat by his teammate Hyuuga Hizashi who was 15 years old and a jounin. Hizashi had completely white eyes. He wore his forehead protector the same way that almost everyone did. He was dressed in a completely white robe. Hizashi had long black hair and reached his back. Accompanying them was their other teammate, a woman named Inuzuka Tsume. She was 13 years old and was a chuunin. Her hair was short and brown. On her face was a red tattoo on each cheek. She wore a purple short sleeve shirt and a chuunin vest with green pants. She didn't wear a forehead protector.

"Rumor has it that a new guy showed up in Konoha and is now working for us," Shiba said in an emotionless voice.

Sakumo ordered some sake.

"That's all?" He asked.

"No, that's all. Another rumor has also been spreading saying that this person beat both Tsunade and Jiraiya at the same time. The amazing thing about the rumor was that he did it with ease," Hizashi answered Sakumo.

"No way, it's only a rumor," Tsume replied.

"Why do you say that Tsume?" Sakumo asked her while sipping on his sake.

"Because it's not possible to take care of them so easily," Tsume answered.

"I'm just going by what everyone's saying," Hizashi told his former partner.

She rolled her eyes, "Well, you shouldn't believe everything you hear."

"Is he someone we know?" Sakumo asked, interested about the new person. To his knowledge the only people who could take care of the sannins in the village were he and Sarutobi. Even he had a hard time when facing one of them. When they worked together it was almost impossible for them to lose, though seeing them work together was pretty rare. Each of them could cover their teammate's weakness so easily and this made them hard to beat. He has beaten all of them together, but this only happens once in a while. _That's good. At least this new guy's on our side._

"That's the thing. No one knows who he is. They say he's not even in the enemy's bingo book or anything like that. That's weird because for someone to be that strong and not be in any bingo book at all? That's just not right. The only thing I've heard is that he's working for us and he is real strong. As a matter of fact we haven't seen Jiraiya, Tsunade, or Orochimaru yet so we don't even know his description. We can't even confirm his existence," Shiba said.

"No name, no description, a mystery man," Tsume said, more to herself.

"Interested?" Sakumo joked.

"No," she replied a little too quick.

--

Naruto went to the only restaurant that he knew other than Ichiraku. He wanted some sake this time and Ichiraku didn't serve sake. Plus he was pretty sure it wasn't Ichiraku yet. _Maybe Ayame's grandfather or grandmother might be operating the place._ If they could cook ramen as well as her, then he'll be visiting them pretty often. Naruto opened the door when he got there and the bar was full of people all talking at the same time. As he walked in, everyone stopped talking and looked at him. _Okay, I shouldn't have come here._

He slowly turned around to leave when he heard a voice, "Hey, do you want to join us?"

He looked to see who was talking to him. Naruto immediately noticed who it was. The resemblance so evident. This was Kakashi father talking to him. He went to their table and took a seat. Even though people were talking again, Naruto could feel all the stares and he did not like the feeling.

Sakumo took out his hand for Naruto to shake when he came, "My name's Hatake Sakumo. What's yours?"

Naruto was happy to see the Sakumo didn't wear a mask unlike his child. He remembered trying to get Hinata to do show him how Kakashi's face looked like.

--

_Flashback_

Hinata was so happy. This was the first time that Naruto had ever requested her for a one person mission. She ran up the stairs and opened the door.

"Hi Hinata," Naruto said.

"Hi Hokage-sama," Hinata replied.

"Well, I've got a mission that only you could do," Naruto said to her. He thought about using Neji, but he knew that Hinata paints on her time off so she would be better in this mission.

He handed her a scroll. It had C-class written on it. Hinata opened the scroll and read it.

Class: C-rank.

_Objective: Find out what is underneath Kakashi's mask without him noticing._

_Use of deadly force: No._

_Additional things: Draw out a picture and give it to me_

_Payment: 1,000_

The payment was well above a C-class mission. Hinata rolled up the scroll, "I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but I can't do this."

"Why not Hinata? It's a simple mission."

"I don't want to use my Byakugan to spy on people in the village."

Naruto laughed, "You're not spying. You're just going to use it so I'll know what's under his mask."

"Sorry, I can't do it," Hinata told him.

"Come on Hinata, you've never used you're Byakugan to look at people?"

Hinata blushed. She did use it once to spy on how 'big' Naruto is and she found out that he was well equipped, but other than that she hasn't used it to look at other people before.

Of course she didn't tell him this, "No Naruto, that's disrespectful."

"Don't be so boring," Naruto said.

He tried to convince her, but couldn't. In the end he decided that he couldn't convince her to do the mission. Neji stated that he would not use his eyes for something so mundane when Naruto assigned him the mission.

--

To Naruto's surprise Sakumo's face looked normal. It was kind of feminine, but other than that nothing really stood out.

Naruto shook the man's hand and replied, "Mine's Takahashi Naruto."

"Is there something wrong with my face?" Sakumo asked. He could tell Naruto was looking at it.

"Oh sorry, no, nothing's wrong with it," Naruto said.

The 3 other people that were sitting with Sakumo also greeted themselves. They looked at Naruto in awe. Naruto ordered some sake when he sat down.

Sakumo assessed the young man. _So young, I thought he would be older._

"You're the big talk around here right now, you know that?" Sakumo said to Naruto.

"Did I do something wrong?" Naruto asked.

Sakumo laughed, "No, it's just that whenever something new comes up, there are a lot of gossip."

_Some things never change no matter what time-line you're in, _Naruto thought.

"Another interesting rumor about you has been going around," Tsume said to him after a moment of silence in the group.

Naruto didn't answer, not knowing what the rumor was.

"People are saying that you manhandled 2 of the 3 sannins easily," Tsume said a little louder.

Everyone's voices in the bar became a little lower and Naruto could tell they were all listening hard for his answer.

Naruto could feel the heat and it wasn't from the restaurant. He didn't want anyone to know this. Naruto knew that Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't like him yet and he didn't want them to hate him. He hoped that his encountered with the sannins would remain quiet, but it seems that he was wrong. Naruto also didn't know how to answer: yes, I kicked their ass or no, they kicked my ass?Of course he knew the second option wouldn't fly at all. If they really did beat him, he wouldn't even be alive. _Maybe I should lie and say that I didn't met them yet._

As he was thinking up of a lie to tell, he felt 3 familiar chakras and knew who was coming.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade walked in the door and everyone became quiet. The tension in the restaurant was rose to an even higher level and everyone was waiting to see what would happen. Jiraiya took a seat by his friends near one of the corners while Tsunade did the same thing. Jiraiya tried to break the silence by talking to his friends a little louder than usual, but everyone remained silent and looked at Orochimaru as he walked towards Naruto.

Orochimaru took out his hands and with a grin said, "I'm sorry, we didn't official meet yesterday. The name's Orochimaru. I can tell we'll be good friends."

Naruto wanted to kill this man, but knew better and shook the man's hand. They shook hands for a little longer than Naruto liked, "The name's Naruto."

"Well Naruto. We must test our skills against each other sometime, seeing as how you easily defeated my 2 teammates at the same time." With that Orochimaru left to sit with his friends.

--

_Jiraiya's table_

"That's the guy then?" said one of Jiraiya's friends. He had red short hair that was slick back.

"Yea," Jiraiya answered.

"Well, I thought he would be older, but you got whooped by someone your age," said another of Jiraiya's friend. This person was bald, muscularly built, and had a huge scar across his neck. From the scar one could say that he barely escaped death. Both of his friends laughed.

"Look I didn't get whooped alright. I wasn't ready," Jiraiya told them. This was true; when Jiraiya didn't feel anything that suggested the man wanted to kill them, Jiraiya took this as a weakness and felt that he didn't need his full strength. In the end it was his fault for underestimating the guy. The fact was that he still lost and this made him angry.

"Sure, it's okay man. You can still beat us," said his red hair friend. His friends were still laughing.

"Shut-up," Jiraiya said and they became silent. It was another minute before they both started laughing at him again.

--

_Orochimaru's table_

"Pretty young if you ask me," said one of Orochimaru's friends. He had black hair that was split in the middle. It came down to his cheeks.

"Don't take age as a sign of weakness. He's strong alright," Orochimaru told him.

"You think you can beat him?" Another of Orochimaru's friends asked. She had short purple hair.

"I don't know. Jiraiya and Tsunade were caught off guard, but it still doesn't change the fact that they lost. It was their fault anyways," Orochimaru answered.

--

_Tsunade's table_

Tsunade was sitting down with her friend. Tsunade had just ordered some sake.

Her friend nodded her head sideways towards Naruto and asked Tsunade, "Is that the guy?"

"Yes, it seems like you told everyone that someone beat us. Didn't I tell you to keep it to yourself?"

"I did. It wasn't me who spread the rumors about the new guy. It was Orochimaru's friends."

"How come you never told me he was so young? And 'wow' isn't he a cutie? God, why don't you ever give me all the details."

Tsunade shook her head sideways when she heard cutie, "I never told you he wasn't young."

"Well I figured he would be old like Sarutobi or at least Sakumo, but he's only our age.

--

_Naruto's table_

_So it's true. One of the sannins admitted to his teammate's defeat. Also, he talked about their defeat in front of the other 2 and they didn't do anything about it_, Sakumo thought.

Sakumo was real interested now. He wanted to know how the battle happened. Sakumo looked at the young man's hand wound and figure he probably received it from yesterday's fight with the 2 sannins. _It looked like he didn't come out of the battle unscathed. _"How did you hurt your hand Naruto?"

Naruto raised his right hand, "Oh this. I received it today when I tested my new genin squad."

Sakumo and the other people at the table laughed real loud when they heard this, even Shiba. This didn't bother Naruto at all. In fact he was happy that he was making some new friends.

"We better watch out for those new recruits. They managed to injure someone who came out unscathed against 2 of the sannins," Sakumo said holding his stomach. The group was still laughing at Naruto's statement.

--

_Back at Tsunade's table_

"If you don't go after this guy, I will," said her friend.

"Go ahead."

Her friend looked at the table where Naruto was sitting, "Look, he even made Shiba and Hizashi laugh. That doesn't happen really often."

"Who cares?"

"You know what they say. You need a strong man for a strong woman and this guy fits the bill. The only people stronger than you are Sakumo and Sarutobi. And they're too old. Also Sakumo's engaged already. The only other people for you are Jiraiya and," she gave Tsunade a weird look, "Orochimaru."

"Whatever."

"Come on Tsunade, he must be real nice."

"You haven't even met him yet and you're saying he's nice already," Tsunade just shook her head in disbelief. She almost couldn't believe what she heard.

"I can tell."

"You can tell," Tsunade said in an unbelieving tone.

"Sure I can. If you want to see I'll go and get him," she stood up and walked to the table where Naruto was standing. Tsunade tried to grab her wrist as she was leaving, but was too slow.

When she reached Naruto's table she took out her hands.

"Hi, I never seen you here before so I wanted to come by and introduce myself. My name's Uchiha Nyoko."

She was around his age and height. Nyoko had dark black hair that was in a ponytail reaching her lower back. She left 2 bangs that came down her cheeks and reached just above her chest. Naruto could see that Nyoko was very fit. She had a small, but firm body with a slightly oversized breast accompanying her petite size. Of course it wasn't as big as Tsunade's, just a little bit smaller, but very firm. She also wore an ANBU black vest and forearm protector. The vest had a small symbol of the Uchiha clan on the right side of her upper chest. Naruto could see that she carried her sword was strapped behind her back. Attach to her hip was a black crow mask. Unlike most ANBU, her tattoo on her shoulder wasn't completely black. The top swirl was red while the bottom swirl was white. She wore completely black pants.

_Wow, an Uchiha girl. I've never met one before. I wonder if she's a little psychotic like the other Uchihas I know_. Naruto shook the young woman's hand, "Please to meet you, I'm Naruto."

"You don't want to be staying with this old man and these youngsters do you?" Nyoko said jokingly and smiled at Sakumo when she called him an old man. Sakumo just gave her a smile back.

"Sorry if it seems like I'm stealing him from you Sakumo," Nyoko said to him.

"He can go wherever he wants," Sakumo responded.

They all thought Naruto would join her and Tsunade because he might have been more comfortable with people his age but they heard him say, "Sorry, but I think I'll stay here."

"Why?" Nyoko asked with a confused voice.

"I can sense that your friend doesn't want my company so it's alright," Naruto told her nodding at Tsunade. She could tell Naruto was a little sad when he said that.

Nyoko sighed in disappointment and went back to where Tsunade was sitting. She crossed her hands showing her disappointment when she sat down.

"Well, nice going Tsunade," she said in a tone that showed her disappointment. "He was going to join us, but felt the freaking bad vibes that you were radiating."

Nyoko could tell that Naruto really did want to join them.

"That's fine with me," Tsunade answered and took a sip of her sake.

"Anyways, I got his name. It's Naruto."

"I didn't ask for his name."

_Good thing he's not joining us, I don't want anything to do with that guy_, Tsunade thought. She really didn't care that Naruto had beaten her, but she hated him for doing what he did. Naruto had placed her and Jiraiya under a jacket holding each other. She wanted to kill him for that.

She hated perverted guys. She remembered all the perverts who would look at her breast and didn't care about how she felt. Guys that tried to get to together with her were always looking down and never at her face. They never asked how she was feeling or anything, they would just stare. Tsunade felt like they violated whenever they did this, just staring at her breast and not even trying to hide the fact that they were. Even though Naruto hasn't stared at her yet she placed him at the same place as these perverts because of his action.

--

_Naruto's table_

Naruto had just finished his sake and was getting ready to leave.

"So, where are you going now Naruto?" Sakumo asked.

"I'm probably going to head home."

"I'll go too I guess."

Naruto knew what Sakumo was doing. Sakumo was walking with him out the door so all the people he would receive fewer stares from all of them while walking out.

They got outside.

"Thanks," Naruto said.

"For?" Sakumo asked.

"You know, walking with me so all the people wouldn't stare as much," Naruto told him.

_Hmm, strong and smart_. "No problem Naruto. I really was heading home also. See you." With that Sakumo took off to his right.

Naruto turned to his left and started walking towards the south side of town.

--

Arashi, Kioko, and Seishin were walking together on a dirt path. It was getting kind of late. After their sensei dismissed them, they played shinobi for the rest of the day. It was about 5 o'clock.

"What do you think of our sensei?" Kioko asked them both.

"I like him. He smiles a lot unlike some of the other jounins. This makes me feel a little more comfortable around him. I was hoping that we didn't a jounin instructor that never smiled and luckily we didn't," Arashi answered.

"I like him too. He saved Arashi…" Seishin said. He thought about what happened. "Well, it was kind of his fault for throwing the shurikens in the first place, but I'm pretty certain he was just testing to see if you could dodge it."

Arashi nodded.

"Do you think he's strong?" Seishin asked the two.

"It doesn't matter. As long as he's a nice person then I'll be glad to be on his team," Kioko answered.

"What do you think our first mission will be? You think we'll kill anyone?" Arashi asked. He squinted a little when he said 'kill.'

"I don't know. I hope not, that's real scary," Kioko said.

"You have to do it one day," Seishin told her.

"Yeah, but it's still scary," Kioko replied.

"Then why did you become a shinobi?" Seishin asked her.

"I wanted to help the village all that I could. It would be better if there weren't a war going on, but that's not the case, is it? I just want my friends to be protected," Kioko told him.

_Kioko really thought like an older person sometimes_, Arashi thought.

"Do you think he'll teach us any cool moves?" Seishin asked them.

"I don't know yet. We just became genins and you don't learn all the cool moves until you're at least a chuunin," Arashi answered him.

"Yeah, but still… he might bend the rules for us you know," Seishin said, hoping that they'll agree with him.

"Maybe, but I don't think any jounin instructors would do that. He probably won't even teach us a new move until a couple of months. Those are the rules," Kioko said.

Seishin gave a huge sigh and slouched down a little.

"What do you guys want to do now?" Arashi asked them.

"My mom wants me home so I guess that's what I'll do," Kioko answered.

"Same here," Seishin said.

They waved good-bye to Arashi and made a left turn. There was nothing for Arashi to do now. He didn't have a family like his 2 friends. Arashi turned around and started walking back towards his house at the orphanage.

When Arashi got home he saw that the garbage was getting really high. To a normal adult it wouldn't be high, but to Arashi it looked overfilled. He grabbed the big trash-bag and started to carry it. He had to hug it real tight so that it wouldn't fall. It was about 2/3 of his height and it covered his whole body and face when he carried it. Arashi finally managed to open the door slightly after the 5th try with his left hand. He swung the door open with kick and started walking. The dumpster was very far from his house and he had to walk down the stairs because he was living on the second story. As he was walking down the stairs one step at a time he could feel the bag tipping forward. _Oh no, it's going to fall_.

Just when he thought it had fallen he felt the trash bag lighten.

"Whoa, be careful there little guy," said a voice.

Naruto took the trash bag.

"Naruto-sensei, thank you. I almost dropped it," Arashi said to him.

_Naruto-sensei, that's a new one_, Naruto thought. He liked the sound of it though. It was a lot better than Hokage-sama or Rokudaime-sama.

"No problem," Naruto said and he grabbed the large trash bag.

"Let's go throw this away shall we?"

Naruto was carrying the large trash bag down the stairs. It was another 5 minutes before they reached the dumpster. He threw the trash bag in.

"Thank you, Naruto-sensei," Arashi said.

They were walking back towards the apartments.

"Why are you here, Naruto-sensei?" Arashi asked him.

"Well, I was just going home."

"You live at the orphanage?"

"Yep, that's where I live."

"I have lived there ever since I could remember and I've never seen you."

"I just barely moved there yesterday. I'm on the second floor."

"Me too," Arashi was getting happier. _Finally a person he knew that also lived at the orphanage_. The moment that thought reached his mind he got mad at himself for getting happy.

"I'm sorry if I sounded happy. If you live at the orphanage then you're parents must have…" Arashi couldn't finish the sentence.

"It's ok, Arashi," Naruto told him.

They were walking up the stairs together.

"If you're not doing anything Arashi, you can come to my house if you want. I'm going to cook when I get home," Naruto said to him.

Arashi's eyes grew big. Nobody had ever invited him to visit their house. He's never been to another person's house, not even Seishin and Kioko. Arashi knew that they would invite him if it was their house, but it wasn't. He could tell that their parents really didn't like him.

Arashi gave a huge smile, "Yea, that'll be nice."

They reached Naruto's house. He grabbed his keys and opened the door.

"It's not much, but make yourself at home."

Arashi looked inside and his eyes bulged. His sensei's house was the coolest house that he's ever seen. The walls were light blue. He walked into the house. His sensei's house was small, but had almost everything. There was a huge black leather sofa near the right side of the wall. Arashi really wanted to jump on the soft just to see how it feels, but didn't. There was a small dark brown desk with smooth edges. It was located on the left side of the room and a stand-up lamp. On the desk stood a picture frame. Naruto had already developed the picture that they took earlier today. In the middle of the living room was a carpet that had a very plain, but cool design. It was a circle shape carpet that was completely red with a spiral design that met in the middle. Straight ahead was a shelf, stuff with all kinds of books and scrolls.

Arashi looked into the kitchen and saw that the stoves were not like his. They were black and completely new. They had soft edges also instead of hard pointy edges like his stove. The white refrigerator had a soft shape to it also. Arashi could see that it even had a place that ice can pop out of. He saw someone operating the ice machine on a refrigerator similar once when he was looking for a table. There was a small light brown dining table in the middle of the kitchen. It also had soft edges like everything else. A dim light also hang from the ceiling right on top of the dining table.

He saw Naruto heading to the kitchen.

"So, what do you want to eat Arashi?" Naruto asked him.

Arashi didn't know how to answer. He never knew that much about food. The only thing that he knew how to cook was beans and bake chicken.

Arashi took a seat on the couch. It was far more comfortable than he imagined, "It doesn't matter."

"Okay, I'll just cook something up then," Naruto answered.

Naruto grabbed some vegetables and beef. He also took out some of the spices and sauce that he bought and began cooking. It was about 40 minutes before he was finished. He set the two plates in the dining table.

Arashi came and sat down on the chair. The food smelled delicious. He took a bite and it was the most delicious thing he ever taste, though that didn't say much because he hasn't tried many different food. Arashi finished his plate at the same time that Naruto did.

"Do you want another serving?" Naruto asked. Arashi thought that it would be rude to say yes, but he really liked Naruto's cooking and it was hard to resist.

Naruto could see what he was thinking, "Arashi, you don't have to be worried about being rude or anything like that. I don't want you going hungry. I made a lot anyways."

After eating Naruto washed the dishes. At first Arashi was shy and a little silent, but after a while he couldn't stop talking with Naruto. He was real comfortable around Naruto. They continued talking for a long time until it was very late. The time flew by so fast that Arashi didn't even know that it was already 11 o'clock.

Arashi looked at the clock, "I guess I'll be going home now. It's getting real late."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Remember we have a mission. Come by whenever you want to okay."

Arashi nodded at his sensei.

He walked back to his house. After being at Naruto's house, his house seemed worst than usual. Arashi had his head down as he walked a few doors down. He opened the door and went inside. Sometimes Arashi wished he had a family. Even though Seishin and Kioko were his close friends, he often wondered what it would feel like having a real family. He never knew what happen to his father and mother. He just heard that they went on a mission and never came back. This happened a lot to shinobis, not all deaths were accounted for. Even though this was the most likely case he would wait near his door every night for about 15 minutes before bed, just hoping that someone would knock on it and pick him up. It was about 12 o'clock when he decided leave the door and go to bed.

Naruto was lying on his bed thinking to himself. His father was a good kid, almost like him minus the pranks. Now Naruto knew why Sarutobi had passed the torch to him. _Got to get some rest now_.


	4. Ch 4:Mission

2/13/07

**Chapter 4:Mission**

Naruto and Arashi went to pick up Seishin and Kioko at their houses.

"What our mission Naruto-sensei?" Kioko asked him when they were at the front gate.

"Nothing much, we're to patrol the west border until 1 o'clock."

"Okay, you three lead and I'll be behind you guys," Naruto said. He knew that it was daylight and if there were going to be any attacks during daytime, it would most likely come from behind.

They nodded and took the lead. They were jumping and flipping through the trees.

"Naruto-sensei, can I ask you something?" Seishin said.

"Well you just did," Naruto laughed. "But, go ahead what's on your mind."

"Can you teach us a cool jutsu?" Seishin asked him.

"You shouldn't be asking Naruto-sensei to show us a jutsu. He'll decide when it's right to show us a new jutsu," Kioko told him.

Naruto answered, "Sure, why not. When we get back I'll show you guys a new move."

They were all surprised at his sudden answer and looked back at his face to see if he was lying. They could tell that he wasn't lying to them.

--

4 sand shinobis were scouting their new victims. They were traveling along side the group, but far enough so that they wouldn't get caught. 1 of the shinobis returned from scouting the group. This shinobi was a girl. She had black small eyes and very short blue hair, shorter than most guys. She didn't wear a vest, only a long sleeve blue shirt and pants. Her name was Fuyo.

"How many people are there and is there anyone strong in the group?" The orange hair shinobi asked. He knew that if someone strong were there Fuyo would know. He only wore a green vest, showing his arms. There was a huge scar on his left shoulder. His name was Eigo and he was the leader of the group.

"3 kids and a shinobi that I've never seen him before. As you know, I've also been through information files at least 100 times now," Fuyo answered. She was the information person in the group.

"He's probably a weak shinobi then," answered an older man about 30 years old. He was bald and had two mechanical right hands. His name was Choin.

"Don't underestimate people. That will get you killed on the field," Eigo said.

"I'm still living, aren't I?" Choin answered back.

"Should we take them out then?" This time it was a young shinobi that asked. He wore his forehead protector like Ebisu and he was the newest member of the group. His name was Waki.

"I don't want to waste my times on new recruits," Choin said.

"No, we will attack," the leader interjected. "You never know when one of these new recruits might become the next 'sannin' or 'white fang.' It's better to kill them now and never let them have a chance to grow."

"Fine, I get the leader then," the Choin said.

"No, we will attack him together," the leader said pointing to Choin and Fuyo. "Waki, you go after the children. Fuyo doesn't know his abilities so it's better for us to be cautious and send 3 person at him," the Eigo replied.

"But, Fuyo said that he was weak," Choin told him.

"Fuyo never said that he was weak. She said that she didn't have information on him, that doesn't automatically mean that he's weak," Eigo replied.

Waki looked at the 2 shinobis. He's been in the group of only a couple of months, but he noticed many things. Even though Eigo and Choin were similar in skill level he could clearly see why Eigo was the leader of the group instead of Choin.

"Alright then, what's the plan?" Fuyo asked her leader.

"It looks like a patrol duty only. We'll keep an eye on them until they start heading home. That's when we'll attack. Most shinobis are vulnerable when they go back home. Some of them think too much about what they're going to do when they finish their mission and this can be an advantage for us," Eigo replied.

The group nodded.

--

Naruto, Arashi, Kioko, and Seishin were patrolling the western border. Naruto was glad that nothing happened.

"Well, I guess it's time to head back guys," he told them.

"Ahh man, we didn't even get to do anything," Seishin replied.

"It's better like that," Naruto answered.

Seishin didn't agree though.

The group was going back home. Naruto was traveling about 10 feet behind the group.

Eigo was about 100 feet behind his victims. He did a few hand seals, "Yurasu Hando (Rock Hand).

Naruto immediately felt something coming from the ground and jumped up. A huge rock hand came from underneath him trying to grab him, but it missed.

Arashi, Kioko, and Seishin looked back when they heard the noise.

"Naruto-sensei," they all screamed at the same time.

Naruto felt someone closing in on him and he twisted his body. The older shinobi barely miss his punch to Naruto's stomach and instead it caught Naruto's vest which caused it to tear.

It was suppose to be Fuyo's turn to attack, but she knew better. The guy's movement was too fast for her. If Choin's surprise attack missed there was nothing she could do against him. She took her only other option. Fuyo went behind the little girl, _she doesn't even notice me_.

Naruto looked down and saw an enemy behind Kioko.

"Kioko!!" he screamed. Naruto immediately took out a kunai and threw it at Kioko.

Kioko was frozen in fear and the kunai was traveling too fast for her to do anything. Her life flash before her eyes. _Did sensei just throw a kunai at her? This was it. She was going to die. Her young life is over and she hasn't even did anything yet.  
_

The kunai barely scraped the left side of her cheek and a drop of blood fell down. Feeling some liquid drop on her shoulders she turned around to see what it was. What she saw scared her, a kunai had hit a shinobi's eye and blood was running out of the shinobi's eye violently. Kioko looked at the shinobi and almost vomited.

Eigo and Choin surrounded Naruto.

"You're pretty strong to be able to hit Fuyo from such a distance," the older shinobi said.

Naruto looked to his group who was about 20 feet from them and saw that another shinobi had already joined them.

"I don't think you have time to be worrying about them," the orange hair shinobi said noticing where Naruto was looking.

Naruto knew he had to finish these shinobis fast so that he could help his group. He took out a kunai. He ran to the orange hair shinobi and tried to kick him, but missed. The orange shinobi jumped back, but before he could do anything he felt a kunai in the back of his neck. Naruto had just appeared behind him and stuck the kunai straight through the back of his neck and through the Adam's apple. Eigo dropped to the floor motionless.

Naruto immediately went to the older shinobi and tried to stab him in the stomach, but found something was wrong. The shinobi took this opportunity to and sent a one-two punches to Naruto's cheekbone and mouth which caused Naruto to be sent back 10 feet. Naruto immediately got up and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Are you surprised?" the shinobi asked.

_His whole body must be mechanical_, Naruto thought.

"There's nothing you can do," Choin said to him.

Naruto brought up his right hand. Suddenly there was a small blue ball swirling above his hands.

As Naruto came close to the man, Choin tried to hit him, but Naruto was too fast. He dodged the punch and said, "Rasengan."

He aimed the Rasengan at Choin's stomach. Choin couldn't believe it, but the he felt his stomach being torn apart. It was about 2 more seconds when Choin was ripped into many pieces that flew in many different directions. Naruto's face was covered in blood after the attack. He looked to where his team was at so that he could help them, but to his surprise he saw them all looking at him.

"AMAZING," the 3 said all at once in an excited voice. They all had eyes that showed that it was the most amazing things they had ever seen.

Naruto reached into his pocket and took out a scroll. He did a few hand seals and 'poof' a towel popped up and he wiped the blood of his face. Naruto looked at Kioko and saw that he had injured her when he threw the kunai.

"Sorry about that Kioko, are you alright?" he asked her also wiping her face.

Kioko nodded.

Naruto did a few hand seals and said, "Kage Bunshin." Two clones popped up. Naruto grabbed Arashi and put him on his shoulders. The other two clones grabbed Kioko and Seishin and did the same thing.

"Come on, we're about 15 minutes from the village," Naruto said to them.

When they got into town Arashi, Kioko, and Seishi was still on Naruto and his clone's shoulder. They were explaining happily to Naruto how they took care of the shinobi.

"Kioko trapped him in a tree and I tried to slash his neck, but he got out somehow," Seishin was saying.

"But, right as he got out I managed to stab his heart," Arashi said.

Naruto was enjoying their story.

"Sensei, what was that jutsu, it was so cool," Seishin said.

"No, it was beautiful," Kioko said.

"No, it was powerful," Arashi said to the other two.

The 3 were still arguing whether it was cool, beautiful, or powerful when Naruto saw 2 figures walking in opposite direction. It was Tsunade and Nyoko. The real Naruto smiled and waved at them as they passed by. Nyoko smiled and waved back, but Tsunade just walk pass them without giving him a look.

"Why didn't you greet him Tsunade?" Nyoko asked her.

"I don't feel like it."

"Well, I told you he was nice."

Tsunade was confused, "did he prove it or something?"

"Yes, didn't you see the kids? They were all happy and having a good time. Kids tell the truth because they're so young and innocent. A mean person would not be able to make kids happy like that."

"Sure, if you think so…" Tsunade said in a disbelieving tone.

"I'm serious Tsunade."

"Anyways, did you hear what the kids were arguing about? They were talking about his cool, beautiful, and powerful jutsu. I wonder what it is?" Nyoko said, more to herself than Tsunade.

"Why are you so interested in this guy anyway?" Tsunade asked.

The fact was that Nyoko wanted Tsunade to be interested. Tsunade had never been herself after losing Dan. She remembered the time when Tsunade and Dan were together and Tsunade would always be happy. After losing him, Tsunade lost something that was inside of her also. Even though Nyoko still cared for Tsunade, Nyoko hoped that this new guy would somehow turn Tsunade back to the way that she was for her and Tsunade's sake.

"You're not?" Nyoko asked back.

"Nope," Tsunade answered.

"You're not interested in someone that strong? Even if it's not about, you know, attraction. Don't you just want to know him a little?" She wanted Tsunade to be even a little interested, even if there wasn't any attraction. Nyoko hoped that this would eventually lead to something else.

"Not really."

Nyoko sighed.

--

"Hey guys, lets say we celebrate our first mission success by going out to eat," Naruto told the group.

They all said excitedly, "Yea."

Naruto hoped that Ichiraku existed at this time because he really wanted some ramen. They reached the place and Naruto set his team down. Luckily Ichiraku did exist, though the owners weren't Ayame or her father. _It's probably Ayame's grandparents_, thought Naruto.

"Hi, what can I get for you guys today?" the man in a cooking apron asked.

"Just some 3 bowls of pork ramen, 4 bowls of today's special, and 3 bowls or beef ramen," Naruto said. The man was getting ready to leave.

Naruto stopped him, "Hey, wait, they haven't ordered yet." He pointed at the kids.

_That was just for him?_ The man answered, "Oh I'm so sorry, I thought you were ordering for the youngsters also."

"Don't worry about limiting yourselves team. I want you guys to eat until you're full okay?"

They nodded.

Arashi, Kioko, and Seishin also ordered some ramen. It was the first time that Arashi had ever gone to a restaurant before. He didn't know what to order so he just ordered some things that Naruto ordered.

When he tasted ramen for the first time, he really liked it. He ate 4 bowls and was so full his stomach felt like bursting while Kioko and Seishin only finished 1 bowl.

When they all finished Naruto paid and told them, "Okay guys, wait for me at training ground 3."

"Why?" Kioko asked.

"Didn't you guys want to learn a new move? If you guys don't want to learn it then it's okay," Naruto said.

Because of their encounter with the sand nins, they completely forgot that Naruto would teach them a new jutsu.

"Oh of course we do. We just forgot about that because of the encounter with the sand shinobis. Where are you going then Naruto-sensei?" Kioko asked him.

"I've got to give my report to Sarutobi-sensei first. After that, I'll meet you guys there."

They left and Naruto went to the Hokage Tower.

When he reached the door he opened it.

"How was your mission Naruto?" Sarutobi asked him.

"We managed to kill some sand-nins that tried to ambush us. That was it," Naruto answered.

"Good. Are you going to the meeting tonight?"

"What meeting?"

Sarutobi kept forgetting that Naruto didn't live in a time of war. "We have a meeting once a month to see how things are going. Almost all the jounins and go to the meeting, except for the ones on missions obviously. A few ANBUs shows up also. We discuss the usual things like how many shinobis we lost, how many shinobis the enemy lost, ideas people have on their minds, stuff like that."

"Alright, I'll probably be there. Where is it located?" Naruto asked.

"The big building on the other side of the hospital. It starts at 7 o'clock."

"Okay," Naruto said and left the room.

--

Arashi, Kioko, and Seishin were traveling to training ground 3.

"What do you think he'll teach us?" Kioko asked.

"I hope it's that jutsu that he used on the sand-nin. Man, that was so cool. Did you see how the sand-nin was turned into a million pieces so easily? Plus, the sand nin's body was also completely metal," Seishin said.

"Obviously, he won't be teaching us that jutsu. It's too high rank for us to learn it. He'll probably teach us something else," Kioko said disagreeing with Seishin.

"Whatever. You've already been wrong of him once, thinking that he wouldn't show us any moves. He's different from the other jounins, I can feel it," Seishin replied.

_Something is different about our sensei. I can't put my hand on it, but I can feel it also_, Arashi thought. Arashi was still thinking this when he was interrupted.

"How about you Arashi, what do you think?" Seishin asked.

"I'm just glad he's going to teach us something," Arashi answered. They nodded in agreement.

They reached training ground 3. It was about 10 minutes before they saw their sensei arrive carrying a paper bag.

"Sorry I'm so late guys, but I had to go buy some things," Naruto told them. He reached for something in his pocket.

He pulled out a bandage and placed it on Kioko's cut, "We don't want your beautiful face having a scar now do we."

He looked at the group, "Okay, you guys saw my move earlier right? What did it look like?"

They were all thinking the same thing. _He's going to teach us that move!?_

"Wait, you're going to teach us that move you used on the sand nin?" Seishin asked, just making sure so that he wouldn't lose hope.

Naruto gave a confused look as he reached for contents in his bag, "Yea, what other move did you think I was going to teach you guys?"

Seishin looked at Kioko in triumph. "Oh never mind."

Kioko knew that Arashi and Seishin were going to hate her for this, but she wouldn't feel right if she didn't speak up, "Naruto-sensei, what Seishin is thinking is that you might have thought us a lower level jutsu. From the damage it did to that shinobi, that jutsu is clearly a high level jutsu. We just thought that it might be too earlier for us to learn because we barely graduated from the academy."

Seishin and Arashi glared at her. Naruto was going to teach them the move, but if she put it this way he might not do it anymore. Seishin tried to shut her up, "We? Speak for yourself Kioko."

Kioko didn't answer, but just put her head down a little more in a thinking position.

Naruto had already thought about this. The Rasengan wasn't really a double-edge sword like some other high level jutsu. The only thing that it might do is drain their chakra too much.

Naruto scratched his chin, "Well, it is a high level move."

Arashi and Seishin's eyes were scared now. _Oh no, he's not going to teach it to us._

"But, I believe you guys know when to use this jutsu so I don't feel bad teaching you guys this jutsu. I was also a genin also when I learned this jutsu."

_Wow, he was a genin like us when he learned this powerful technique,_ Arashi thought.

Arashi and Seishin's eyes went back to being normal after hearing that Naruto would still teach them. Kioko also looked up a little, relieved that she didn't cause them their chance at learning the jutsu.

"The move is called Rasengan. So what did you guys see when I used it?" Naruto asked the group.

"I didn't get to see much because you're back was turned to me. I only saw how the sand-nin torn into a million pieces after the attack. It was powerful," Arashi said.

Kioko saw the whole thing because she was at a different angle. "It looked like a blue swirling ball made of chakra. It was beautiful."

"Yes," Naruto answered. He lifted his right palm and did the Rasengan. Arashi saw it for the first time and it did looked like a swirling ball made of chakra. He saw blurs of chakra rotating.

"You're simply going to create a flow of chakra. First you must accumulate and maintain chakra into your hand. Next you release a constant amount of chakra. Finally you rotate the chakra."

"Unlike most other jutsu, this jutsu doesn't require any hand seals. To master this technique you have to finish 3 steps. This is the first step," Naruto said and he took out a water balloon. The 3 watched closely. They saw little bumps on the water balloon and then all of the sudden the water balloon popped.

"So the first step is to create a rotation inside the water balloon using our chakra so that it'll pop?" Kioko asked Naruto.

"Yea, that's all there is to it," Naruto answered. He threw them all a water balloon. They immediately started rotating their chakra. To their surprise all the water balloons were oval shape now.

"I'll pop this balloon in an hour," Seishin said when he saw his water balloon taking the shape of an oval.

"Oh, okay, I'll be taking a nap for a while. Just wake me up when one of you pop it," Naruto told them. He wanted to sleep before the meeting.

"Who wants to bet that I'll pop this balloon first?" Seishin asked.

"You're on, I'll pop this balloon before you," Arashi replied.

"I'll be popping this balloon before any of you," Kioko said to them.

It was about 3 hours and they still haven't popped the balloon. They were running out of chakra and lying on the ground..

"Man, this a lot harder than I thought," Seishin said.

Arashi was panting, "Yea, you're right about that."

"I agree with you guys," Kioko said.

"This is impossible for us," Seishin said.

"But sensei said he mastered it when he was a genin and so will I," Arashi told them. He got back up and started rotating the water balloon. It was stretching out a lot, but that was it.

Naruto got up around 6:30 and saw them still rotating the water balloon. "I've got to go to a meeting right now. Let's head home shall we."

"This is hard Naruto-sensei," Seishin said.

"I never said that it would be easy. It took me a long time to master the technique. This is an A-rank jutsu," Naruto told them.

Their eyes grew wider. They knew it was a strong technique, but they didn't know it was an A-rank.

They nodded stating that they understood and went home still holding their water balloons.

He could see that something was wrong with Kioko during the whole time so Naruto decided to follow her. As she was about ½ a block from her house Naruto appeared beside her.

"What's wrong Kioko?"

Kioko looked down, "Nothing."

"I can tell something's bothering you. You can tell me," Naruto said.

"Okay, but promise you won't tell or mention it to the other 2," she said.

"Okay, I promise," Naruto replied.

"Well, it's just that I didn't want to be a shinobi who…" she couldn't think of the word.

"Always went by the book," Naruto filled in the blank for her.

"Yea, something like that. When I told you about how it might be dangerous for us to learn a powerful jutsu Arashi and Seishin got real mad at me. It hurt, but I wouldn't have felt right if you thought it to us without knowing that genins shouldn't learn a powerful jutsu like that yet."

Naruto bent down in front of her and put his hands on her shoulder, "You did the right thing Kioko. I'm proud that you stood up to what you believed in even though you were going against your friends. That takes courage. One day they might try to learn something or do something that is too dangerous and you're going to be the one that stops them. You're the one that will have the right way of thinking."

Even though Naruto said this, he knew that he would have reacted the same way as Arashi and Seishin when he was younger. Now that he was older, he knew Kioko was correct. It was really good to see that at least one of his students was cautious.

"But it still doesn't feel good."

"Sometimes doing the right thing won't feel good Kioko."

"I also thought about how dangerous the jutsu was before teaching you guys. If I felt you guys weren't ready for it yet then I would have waited," Naruto said.

"Thank you Naruto-sensei," Kioko said and hugged him.

"For what?" Naruto asked.

"For saying that I did the right thing. Even though I thought it was the right thing, it's comforting that you also agree with me," Kioko told him.

Naruto just smiled at her, "No problem. K, I got to go to the meeting."

He told her good-bye and left.

--

Naruto reached the meeting room and walked in. This time there was even more people than the time at the restaurant and the whispers were louder. Naruto saw Nyoko waving at him and could tell that she wanted him to sit by her. He waved back, but decided to take a seat by Sakumo instead near the back of the room. Everyone was giving him a glance now and then.

"Hey Naruto, did you get beat up by your genin team again?" Sakumo asked as Naruto sat down. Naruto's cheek had a slight bruise now from getting hit earlier.

He rubbed his cheek, "No, we were attacked during a patrol."

"Must have been pretty strong to hurt you," Sakumo said.

If Naruto knew about the armor then he wouldn't have gotten hit at all, but this was the life of a shinobi. You don't get to know your enemy most of the time.

"He was pretty strong, I guess," Naruto answered. Just then Sarutobi walked in.

"Alright everyone, quiet down," Sarutobi said and the group became silent.

He started writing some numbers on the chalkboard.

"As you can see we've lost fewer shinobis this month compared with our enemy. Ever since Tsunade's suggestion of a medical organization this has been the trend. But, the enemy still has a lot more shinobis than us, about a 4 to 1 ratio," Sarutobi said to the group.

He could sense that the people weren't paying attention to him. _What's the problem? Oh, might as well get that out of the way._

He pointed at Naruto, "Stand up for a minute, would you?"

Naruto obeyed and stood up.

"This is Takahashi Naruto. He's a new jounin and his help to our village is greatly appre…"

Sarutobi was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

Jiraiya stood up and yelled, "Speak for yourself old man. I don't appreciate his 'help.'" He pointed at Naruto.

"Jiraiya sit down. I trust Naruto with my life," Sarutobi said.

"Well, that's you. He's an outsider and I don't trust him," Jiraiya said harshly.

Sakumo interrupted, "Come on Jiraiya. Sarutobi and I trust him, why can't you?"

"Because he has no history. I'm pretty sure you know that also. I've never even seen his face in any bingo book at all, even in the enemy's bingo that we've collected," Jiraiya answered.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sakumo asked.

"You know fully well what that means. It means that he's hiding something from us. He's doing things by himself and doesn't have any allegiance to any villages. He could be selling our information to other villages right now," Jiraiya said.

Sarutobi interrupted him, "Don't say such things that you don't know Jiraiya. Why do you hate him so much anyways?"

"It's cause he whooped Jiraiya," Jiraiya's red hair friend answered for him and the crowd broke into laughter. Jiraiya looked around and could see everyone laughing, everyone except Naruto and Tsunade. This made him even angrier. _Who does this guy think he is? He's not even joining them_.

Naruto had already taken a seat when he heard the comment. He had two choices: he would let the guy talk, the other choice was to tell guy be quiet. Knowing that Jiraiya would hate him even more if he took the latter, he decided to not say anything.

"Look, he didn't whoop me alright. I was taken by surprise," Jiraiya told the room.

"Sure Jiraiya, just admit you lost man. It's okay to lose, really. You'll feel better after admitting it. I'm not ashamed of being weaker than you," the red hair man answered in a joking voice. The group laughed again.

Jiraiya wanted to pound his friend into oblivion for his comments, but just started walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Sarutobi asked him when he was 5 feet from the door.

"I'll get the information from today some other time. I can't stand being in the same room as him," Jiraiya said and pointed his finger at Naruto. He stormed out the door and slammed it.

Jiraiya walked out the door and kicked the ground. A little puff of sand came up.

_Damn, I hate that guy. Next time I'll beat him and show everyone how weak he really is._

Sarutobi gave a sigh and shook his head, "Anyone else feels the same?"

It was about 15 seconds when Tsunade got up, Nyoko tried to stop her, but Tsunade swapped her hand away.

Naruto looked down. Everyone else accepted him except the 2 people that he respected the most. This really hurt him deep inside.

**--**

It was about 15 seconds when Jiraiya saw the door open. It was his teammate.

"Why are you out here?" he asked her.

"Sarutobi asked if anyone felt the same and I did."

"Doesn't seem like you really hate him."

"I don't hate him. I just don't like him for what he did to me. Plus, I don't trust him. Like you said, a person that strong and being virtually unknown is quite suspicious."

"What did he do to you? I thought you weren't those type of people who really took a competition seriously," Jiraiya said. While he and Orochimaru always fought to see who was better she never took part in any of the fights.

"I don't care that he beaten me, it's what he did after."

This made Jiraiya smiled. That was one thing Naruto did that Jiraiya liked.

Tsunade could feel that Jiraiya was smiling, "Yeah, I should kick your ass for that also."

Jiraiya waved his hands in front of him, "What? I didn't do anything. I didn't like it also, honest."

"Shut-up Jiraiya before I really do hurt you."

"So, where are you going then?" Jiraiya asked her.

"I'll just probably go home. You?"

"Same here."

--

The meeting was over and everybody began to leave. Sarutobi looked at Naruto.

"Can I speak with you for a minute Naruto?"

"Tomorrow, there is going to be a very difficult mission. Since we have so little shinobis I want you to be in this mission."

"But, most of the people don't completely trust me yet," Naruto interjected.

"Yes, I know that, but this is a real difficult mission. I would have led this mission myself, but you showed up. I believe you can do it."

"Fine, what's the mission then?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow."

Naruto hated when people did this. Telling him something, but not everything. It made him think of what they were going to tell him.

"Don't worry, it's only tomorrow," Sarutobi sad.

"Who's on the team then?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow."

_Damn, again?_ Naruto thought.

"Why didn't you just tell me this tomorrow then?" Naruto asked not hiding the annoyance in his voice.

"I don't know. I just wanted it to be on your mind," Sarutobi laughed.

"Damn you old man," Naruto said to him.

This made Sarutobi laughed even harder, "I'll see you tomorrow Naruto. Come to my office at 10 o'clock in the morning."

_Jutsu description_

**Yurasu Hando: Rock Hand**- (A-rank) A ninjutsu that sends a huge hand from the ground trying to grab the victim. If it succeeds the victim is dragged down into the ground burying them alive.

**Rasengan-** (A-rank) Yea, the Rasengan.

--


	5. Ch 5:Documents

2/15/07

**Chapter 5:Documents**

Naruto knocked on Sarutobi's door.

"Come in."

Naruto walked in and saw 3 people. It was Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Nyoko. He gulped and stood next to Nyoko.

"Alright since all of you…"

"Wait, he's going on this mission?" Jiraiya asked pointing at Naruto.

"Yes, he is. As I was saying…"

"Why can't someone else go, like Sakumo or," Jiraiya hated himself for what he was about to say, "Orochimaru."

"They're on their own mission."

"Fine, I won't accept this mission then," Jiraiya replied.

"You will accept it Jiraiya," Sarutobi commanded. "This is very important. Can't you even see that I'm using some of my strongest shinobis just for this one mission?"

Jiraiya gave a loud sigh.

"Good, as I was saying Naruto will lead…"

Jiraiya interrupted again, "It's bad enough that he's going with us, but 'he's' going to lead us?" Jiraiya put a lot of emphasize on he.

Naruto didn't even know that he was going to lead the mission. Yesterday all Sarutobi said to him was that he was going on a mission, not leading it. He really didn't want Jiraiya or Tsunade to hate him even more than they already did and he didn't mind if Jiraiya led.

"Damn it Jiraiya, stop interrupting me. Yes, he's going to lead this mission."

"No, I refuse to take orders from him. I'll lead the mission," Jiraiya said.

"Jiraiya can…" Naruto was about to say lead when he was interrupted.

"No, you will lead this mission Naruto. I feel that if you led this mission, the success of the team would be higher."

When Jiraiya heard this, it made him angrier. _His sensei thought that this man was more qualified than him at leading_.

"Do you have anything more to say Jiraiya? Cause I don't want to be interrupted again," Sarutobi said.

"No, go on," Jiraiya responded showing that he was angry.

"This is a S-rank mission. Nyoko you don't have to wear your mask for this mission. It's not an assassination mission. We have received word that the Hidden Village of Cloud and the Hidden Village of Rock are planning an attack on us. They are exchanging an important document stating how and when they are going to attack us. You are to intercept this document. By doing so, they would probably not attack us. This would give us more time to increase the numbers of our shinobis."

Sarutobi knew that the other nations wanted to end the war because Konoha was starting to build up their strength again. The other nations were losing more shinobis than them and in the long run they would be closer in numbers. More time would benefit Konoha.

"When are they exchanging the documents?" Tsunade asked.

"In 6 days. You 4 will leave in 2 days. They're meeting half-way between the 2 Hidden Villages in a small town."

He gave Naruto the map.

"That's all," Sarutobi said. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Nyoko left.

After they left Naruto asked, "Why did you make me lead? I'm sure you can see that Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't like this."

"I know you're the best person to lead this mission Naruto. I don't want any casualties in this mission. This can happen if one of the others were to lead this mission."

"Is there a lot of civilians in the town that they're meeting in?"

"No, this small village composes mainly of shinobis. That's why this mission is going to be hard. You guys might be facing a village of shinobis. Oh, and here are the profiles of your team. I'm sure you already know Jiraiya's and Tsunade's strength and weaknesses, but they could be different than how you knew them," Sarutobi handed him 3 sets of profiles.

Jiraiya was walking outside of the Hokage Tower. Jiraiya hated that Naruto was leading, but this gave him the perfect excuse. _This time, that fool will lose._ He decided he would wait until he was alone with him to challenge him.

Naruto walked out the building and saw that Nyoko was waiting for him by herself. They walked together down the dirt road path.

She touched his blue cheek and he felt a small sting. _That damn fox did have his uses._

"Are you okay?" Nyoko asked him.

"I'm fine," Naruto said.

"I can ask Tsunade to heal it for you."

Naruto sensed where this was going, "No thanks, it's not big and it'll heal by itself."

"I guess you'll be leading us then," she said happily.

"I guess so," Naruto answered.

"So, I know you're strong, but I want to experience it myself. Can we fight or have a spar?" Nyoko asked him.

Naruto really didn't want to fight if he didn't have too. He remembered the consequences when he fought Tsunade and Jiraiya, "No, I don't think that'll be good. We could injure ourselves before the mission."

She could feel that Naruto was trying to avoid fighting her, "How about after the mission then?"

Naruto was stuck, but he made up a quick lie, "No, I have to take care of my team after this."

"Come on Naruto, I could tell that was a lie. Are you scared losing to me?" Nyoko asked.

Naruto didn't take the bait, "Yeah, I'm scared of losing to you."

"I see. All because I don't have a nickname like Tsunade or Jiraiya you won't fight me. I'm strong too you know."

This thought didn't even pass Naruto. He didn't care that she didn't have a nickname, "Of course I know you're strong, that's why you were chosen for this mission."

"Then why don't you want to fight me?" Nyoko asked him.

"I don't think allies should fight each other."

"You fought Jiraiya and Tsunade."

"I didn't know at that time," Naruto lied. The fact was he was defending himself.

This confused Nyoko. _How could someone from the Hidden Village of Leaf not know Jiraiya and Tsunade?_ She didn't ask him about it though.

"I won't let you go until you agree to fight with me."

"Come on, why do you want to fight me anyways?"

"Because I want to see for myself just how strong you are."

Naruto sighed, "You'll see in a couple of days."

"That's different," she said.

"Couldn't we just do something else?"

She thought for a moment, "No, but you can do something for me. I'll only let you go if you promise me one thing."

"Fine, what is it?" Naruto wonder what she was thinking.

"You've got to promise that you'll try to get to know Tsunade more."

Naruto jerked his head towards her, "What?"

"You heard me. Promise that during this mission you'll try to get Tsunade more."

"What if she doesn't want to get to know me?"

"I didn't say that she had to agree. Just promise that you'll try your best to get to know her."

"Why?"

"I don't have to tell you, just promise."

He really wanted to get to know the young Tsunade more, but always thought that he should take it slow until Tsunade was more comfortable around him. _Might as well knock 2 birds with 1 stone_.

"Fine, I'll try to get to know Tsunade during the mission."

Nyoko smiled, "Thanks, that's all I ask." She left for the Uchiha compounds.

Naruto was walking by himself when he saw Jiraiya leaning on the wall.

_Good he's by himself,_ Jiraiya thought.

"Hey," he said.

Naruto replied, "Oh, hi Jiraiya."

Jiraiya gave him a smirk, "You know that even though Sarutobi assigned you as the leader I won't take any orders from someone that's weaker than me."

Naruto knew where this was going, "I don't want to fight you Jiraiya. It would accomplish nothing."

"What do you mean it will accomplish nothing?" he yelled. "It will accomplish a lot of things. One it will prove just how much stronger I am compared to you. Second, all these damn people won't be laughing at me."

Naruto knew he couldn't get out of this one like with Nyoko. Jiraiya wanted a rematch and no matter what he said, Jiraiya would not let him get out.

Naruto sighed, "Alright, where should we do this then?"

Jiraiya gave a victorious smirked, "Follow me."

Jiraiya led them to an open field. There were no trees around, just plain grass.

Naruto knew that Jiraiya would lead them to a place like this; the terrain was favorable to Jiraiya.

They stood 30 feet from each other. Jiraiya did a few hand seals, "Raikou Hea (Lightning Hair)." Little lightning bolts were running up and down Jiraiya's white hair and he sent his hair towards Naruto. Jiraiya tried to trap him by sending many strands coming from different, but Naruto managed to dodge them all. _Fine, we'll see how well you dodge without the ground._ Jiraiya did a few more hand seals, "Doton: Yomi Numa (Swamp of the Underworld)." A huge ½ mile radius swamp appeared under Naruto. Naruto immediately jumped. _Just as I expected, gotcha_. He sent his hair towards Naruto. At the last minute Naruto crossed his fingers and said, "Kage Bunshin." A clone appeared by Naruto's side, grabbed his wrist and threw him out of danger. _No way_, Jiraiya thought. Naruto made a few more clones and each of them threw him nearer to the land. It took 10 clone throws to reach dry land. This was also difficult because during that time Jiraiya was trying to attack him with his hair.

Jiraiya did a few hand seals when Naruto landed, "Deido Nami (Mud Wave)." A huge wave of mud rose and almost landed on top of Naruto, but he managed to get out of the way. "Kyousei Hinotama (Great Fireballs)," Jiraiya had sent some fireballs and his white hair at Naruto while he was still dodging the mud.

_Damn, it's like he's been training with me and knows all of my techniques already. Plus, he's not even attacking me_. The second part made Jiraiya furious. In his opinion Naruto was mocking him.

_Fine, I'll use something that no one has gotten out of_. He did some hand seals, "Gamaguchi Shibari (Toad Mouth Binding)." A pink matter surrounded Naruto and Jiraiya.

"Sorry, but no one gets out of this," Jiraiya said as the pink matter completely surrounded Naruto and Jiraiya. Jiraiya was smirking, _I've beaten him_. After about 30 seconds Jiraiya noticed something was right. The organ's of the mountain toad wasn't eating Naruto._ What's wrong? This never happened before._ Jiraiya looked at Naruto. _He's not doing anything, so why isn't the frog eating him?_ They stood for another minute just looking at each other and Jiraiya finally decided to release the jutsu.

_Fine, if the stomach of the frog won't eat him I'll just get this over with_. Jiraiya bit his thumb and did a some quick hand seals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning)." Jiraiya was standing on the huge frog's head. The frog had a scar on his left eye and was smoking a pipe. He also wore a blue coat.

_Oh no, I don't want to fight Gamabunta_, Naruto thought. He really respected the frog boss. Since he hasn't signed the contact yet Naruto didn't know what would happen.

"Come Gamabunta. Our enemy is before us, let us crush him," Jiraiya said to the frog.

The frog blew out some smoke and looked at Naruto.

"I don't want to," he replied in a lazy voice.

"Why? He's the enemy. We have to kill him," Jiraiya said.

"Hmmm, I can clearly see that he's not an enemy, Jiraiya. Using me to fight a spar. I should kill you for that," Gamabunta said in an angry voice.

Jiraiya was a little scared now. "Come on Gamabunta, help me win this one," he said to the frog boss in a worried voice.

Gamabunta sighed, "Look, I don't want to fight him. Plus I know that you'll lose already." He blew out some more smoke.

"What!? I won't lose," Jiraiya said angrily to the frog boss.

"He could have killed you about half a dozen times if he wanted to," Gamabunta said.

This made Jiraiya furious. Even the frog boss thought that Naruto was stronger than him.

"Well if you help me then it that won't be the case," Jiraiya said trying to trick the frog boss into helping him.

"Nope, I don't want too," the frog bellowed.

Gamabunta winked at Naruto, "Just beat him real fast so he'll understand. Jiraiya is an arrogant person. He won't accept defeat until it's shown to him."

Jiraiya was angry when he heard this. It was insulting for the frog boss to talk to him like this.

Gamabunta looked up at Jiraiya, "If that's all you ask then I'll be going."

He 'poof' out of existence.

Jiraiya was falling head first from about 100 feet. He did a flip just right before he landed. When he landed he felt something grab his legs and arms. Naruto had made 4 shadow clones and they all held Jiraiya by each limb._ Damn I forgot to keep my eyes on him_. Suddenly he felt something to his neck. Naruto was behind Jiraiya holding a kunai near his throat.

"It's over Jiraiya," Naruto said to him in an emotionless voice.

Jiraiya knew it was over. He couldn't move at all because he was held by the clones. Again Naruto had his life in his hands. _Is he going to kill me this time_?

Suddenly all the clones disappeared and Naruto dropped the kunai. He left before Jiraiya could say anything.

Jiraiya knelt to the floor and punched the ground. _He's clearly stronger than me. The only one who couldn't see it was I. Even the frog boss knew._

Naruto felt bad for destroying Jiraiya's pride, but he knew that there wasn't any other way.

He knew what had to do now. Naruto went to the local bar and bought 10 large barrels of sake and a small cup. The owner looked at him weird, but it didn't bug Naruto. He made 10 clones, each carrying a barrel.

"Follow me guys," he told them.

Naruto traveled about 5 miles out of the Hidden Village of Leaf. He looked around to make sure that no one was there. When he saw that he was alone he did a few hand seals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning)." Gamabunta popped into existence.

Naruto gave him a worried look, "You know who I am right?"

"Of course I do Naruto. I was wondering when you'll call us to ask what happened, but you never did," Gamabunta said. He blew some smoke.

"I thought that since I haven't signed the contract with the frog's yet during this time that you might not have known me yet," Naruto said apolitically.

The huge frog laughed. He didn't answer Naruto's question yet because he saw the huge barrels, "Oh I see that you brought some sake with you. Are you going to drink with me?"

"Yea, I'm 21 now and we haven't had our drink together yet," Naruto said. He remembered the 2nd time that he summoned Gamabunta and the frog told him that they haven't drink together yet.

The frog took one of the barrels and gulped it. Naruto took out his cup and sipped on some sake.

"Ahh, it tastes better when you're drinking it with someone else," Gamabunta said.

Naruto nodded.

"Well, let's answer your question. As soon as you came to this time period with the frog scroll, all your memories since you signed the contract also entered me. If you didn't have the scroll with you at that time then I probably wouldn't have received your memories and thoughts. Luckily you always keep you scroll with you unlike that pervert," Gamabunta told Naruto.

Naruto never heard this information before. He gave Gamabunta a raised eyebrow, "So you know all of my thoughts?"

The huge frog blew out some smoke, "Yes that's correct. What did you think happened when you signed the scroll? We also get something out of it also. As soon as you signed the scroll, from that point forward we can look into what you're thinking whenever we want to."

This new information didn't set well with Naruto. He didn't want anyone knowing what he thought, especially what goes on in his mind sometimes.

Gamabunta laughed when he saw Naruto's discomfort, "Don't worry, we don't really care about your personal perverted thoughts. It's natural for humans to fantasize about what they would do with opposite sex. I have seen some of the things you think of and I got to admit, it's pretty interesting; you together with so many girls at the same time."

"It was only fantasizing okay. It's not like I want it to happen," Naruto tried to convince him.

Gamabunta laughed, "Okay Naruto, I believe you." He was playing with Naruto.

Naruto changed the subject, "Why do you talk with us then? You can already see into our thoughts."

"It's not automatic, we actually have to put a little energy if we want to know your thoughts or dig through your memories. It'll also be boring not talking with you guys so we rather talk. Plus, you don't know what were thinking. Some things that we tell you might make you think of something else," Gamabunta said.

"So, don't dig through my memories then. Can you do that for me?" Naruto asked him.

"Sorry, but I have to dig through it from time to time to see what's going on with you. When it comes to memories I don't get to choose what I want to see. I have a general idea where you keep certain kinds of memories, but it's still not fail proof. Also, even though you take time to think things through, you still make mistakes sometimes and I just want to make sure you're okay in the end," Gamabunta told him.

Naruto knew that Gamabunta was just looking out for him and not trying to be invasive so he thought that it would be okay if Gamabunta knew his thoughts.

Naruto remembered something, "Hey do you know what happened to the Kyuubi? I can't sense him anymore."

Gamabunta grabbed another barrel and gulped it. It took a long time before Gamabunta answered and it seemed like he was thinking things through, "2 living things cannot exist at the same time. I figure when you traveled back in time the Kyuubi choose to exist during this time period instead of inside you. Of course he would choose to exist in this time period. Even though he's still sealed right now, it's better than living in a human and eventually dying later."

Naruto eyes opened, "Then what will happen if I don't make it back to my time period before I'm born."

"Either you or the baby you will disappear," Gamabunta answered.

Naruto thought this over. He wanted to live longer, but knew the importance of his birth. It was like Naruto had a time bomb strapped to his back. Even though it was still a long time before the Kyuubi surface, knowing his possible death date didn't fit well with him. _If the baby me disappeared then the Yondaime won't have any baby to put the Kyuubi in. This means the Kyuubi will destroy the village_.

"Do you know how to get back then?" Naruto asked.

Gamabunta sigh, "Sorry Naruto I don't know how to get back."

Naruto lowered his head.

"Don't worry Naruto, you still have some time before that date arrives. For now let's finish the sake," Gamabunta tried to cheer him up.

Naruto smiled and took a sip of his sake.

When they finished they were both laughing and having a good time.

"Well boss, I got to get some sleep now," Naruto said.

"Yes, you should," replied Gamabunta.

"Before you go Naruto, even though I like talking with you, I don't think you should call on me just to chat. Only call me if you really need me. If Jiraiya finds out that you also have the contract then it could be troublesome and I don't think he should know yet. If you need information summon Gamakicki or Gamatatsu, they're less noticeable. We'll communicate between them."

"Okay," Naruto replied and he left to his house. Gamabunta 'poof' out of existence.

--

2 days had passed and Naruto was going to the front gate. He saw that Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Nyoko were already waiting for him.

Nyoko gave him a happy wave when she saw him.

"I'm pretty sure you all know the mission already so there's no need for explanations. Alright, let's move out."

Naruto was leading in the front this time. He knew that each member could take care of themselves so he decided that they could hear him easier if he was at the front. Right when they started traveling Nyoko could tell something was wrong with Naruto. She left Tsunade's side and went next to him.

"What's wrong Naruto?"

"Oh, nothing," he answered.

"You're not a very good liar you know that."

He was thinking about his recent information from Gamabunta. Naruto sighed, "It's nothing, really."

She decided to let it go, "Well, you remember your promise right? I hate people who breaks their promises."

"Yea, I remember my promise."

"So when are you going to start?"

"Hold up okay. I'll do it pretty soon. Stop pressuring me."

She laughed, "The way you talk is cute, you know that."

She went back to join Tsunade.

"What did you ask him?" Tsunade asked her.

"I just reminded him of our agreement. I wanted to make sure he remembered it."

"What agreement?"

Nyoko smiled at her. She knew exactly what to say so that Tsunade wouldn't ask anymore question about her agreement with Naruto, "Ohh, so you're interested about him now? I knew that you were."

"No, it was just that I was curious what agreement you had with our leader."

"Don't lie, it's not about the agreement that you want to know, it's the person."

"Fine, if you don't want to tell me then it's alright."

"Yea, that's exactly what I'll do. I won't tell you."

It was nighttime and Naruto decided it was time to set up camp. He took out a scroll and did a few hand seals, 'poof.' 3 tents, a cooking pot, some plates, chopsticks, a miniature refrigerator about the size of 2 backpacks, and 4 sleeping bags popped up. He left the group to gather some wood and Nyoko left with him.

When it was only them two Nyoko asked, "Hey, so when are you going to start?"

He put his hand on his forehead indicating to Nyoko that he was tired of hearing this, "Nyoko, I will, just wait okay. I won't break my promise."

She smiled knowing that she was getting underneath Naruto's skin. This was the first time she saw that he was bothered. "K, I was just making sure," she said happily.

Naruto started a fire and started cooking. The rest of the group was in awe. During missions shinobis rarely cooked. Most of the time, they ate nasty rations.

After he finished cooking he split the food into 4 plates and handed them out. Jiraiya didn't want to take it, but the smell of the food was a thousand times more satisfying than his rations and he grabbed it. He put his rations back in his bag. Tsunade and Nyoko didn't hesitate like Jiraiya.

"Wow Naruto, you really can cook," Nyoko said. This wasn't a lie, Tsunade and Jiraiya also thought that the cooking was superb, but didn't want to comment on it.

"What do you think Tsunade?" Nyoko asked in a raised voice.

"It's good, better than rations at least," Tsunade answered while not looking at Naruto.

After a moment, Nyoko scrunched her eyebrows and looked at Naruto.

Naruto gave her a look that said, 'fine, fine, I'll start.'

"So Tsunade what kinds of things are you into?" he asked her. Nyoko gave him a look that said, 'omg, that's the best thing that you can come up with.'

Crickets chirped for a moment.

"Aren't you going to answer him Tsunade?" Nyoko asked her.

"I'm not really into anything."

After a moment Nyoko bumped Tsunade.

"What are you into?" Tsunade asked Naruto.

He didn't know what to say. When he was younger he would have answered, "My dream is to be Hokage. I like ramen." But, it seemed real awkward to be saying this to a Tsunade that didn't know him. "I'm not really into anything."

Naruto could sense that their conversation wasn't getting anywhere.

"If that's all you have to ask I'll be going to sleep," Tsunade said.

Nyoko gave Naruto a disappointed look. Naruto responded by looking at her with a: 'I tried, honest' look.

Nyoko went inside the tent and join Tsunade.

"I see what your agreement was," Tsunade said.

"What?" Nyoko asked innocently.

"He doesn't want to talk and personally I don't either. What are you trying to do Nyoko?"

"He does, it's just that he doesn't know what to say. You've got to loosen up a bit Tsunade. You're scary at times."

"I'm going to sleep."

Jiraiya was sitting outside with Naruto.

"Give her some time," Jiraiya said to him in a normal voice. This was the first words that Jiraiya ever spoken to him. _I guess beating him did do some good._

"She had a hard past, that's all. I'm her teammate and she rarely talks to me," Jiraiya said.

Naruto nodded stating that he understood, which he did.

"You're food was good," Jiraiya added.

"Thanks," Naruto replied.

"Well, I'll be getting some sleep for tomorrow," Jiraiya told him.

"Okay, see you tomorrow morning then," Naruto responded.

--

Jutsu description

**Raikou Hea: Lightning Hair**- (B-rank) A ninjutsu that covers the users hair in lightning.

**Doton: Yomi Numa: Swamp of the Underworld**- (A-rank) A ninjutsu that forms a huge swamp that begins to make everything in it sink. This jutsu is in the manga.

**Deido Nami: Mud Wave-** (A-rank) A ninjutsu that creates a huge wave of mud to squash the enemy.

**Kyousei Hinotama: Great Fireballs-** (B-rank) A ninjutsu that creates many fireballs that the user can spit from his mouth.

**Gamaguchi Shibari: Toad Mouth Binding**- (A-rank) A ninjutsu that encases the victim into the stomach of the fire-breathing Toad.

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Summoning**- (B-rank) A ninjutsu that summons a creature from another world. The summoner must have a valid blood contact with the summoned creature.


	6. Ch 6:Thanks

6/27/07

Sorry for the long update. I've been busy with school lately and didn't have much time. Hope people are still reading :).

**Chapter 6:Thanks**

The small village was surrounded by hills. It was nighttime and Naruto, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Nyoko were on top of a small hill looking down at the village. Tsunade and Naruto didn't talk much on the way to the village even though Nyoko tried her hardest to get some sort of conversation started.

"What's the plan then?" Jiraiya asked Naruto.

Naruto closed his eyes in concentration. It was about 2 minutes before he spoke.

"Alright, there are about 150 shinobis in the village. I sense 8 shinobis in that tower." He pointed to the tower. It was 5 stories high and very thin. It was completely black and was built like an old Japanese building.

"That's probably where they are exchanging the documents."

"You can locate that much people's chakra at the same time?" Nyoko asked.

She knew that it wasn't hard to locate a single person's chakra when they were close, but she was impressed by how far Naruto could sense people's chakra. Plus, he located many shinobis, not just one and they were all new chakra signatures.

"Yes, but it takes me a long time. Also I don't know the exact location," Naruto answered.

Nyoko opened her mouth in awe in amazement.

"Here's what we'll do. Nyoko you'll cast a genjutsu on the people outside. It won't affect the people inside because the building is protected by a chakra barrier. Right when you cast it, the people inside will know that they're being attacked."

"How so?" Jiraiya asked.

"Because the chakra barrier most likely senses any change in chakra manipulation also," Naruto answered.

"Why don't we just kill them without using chakra?" Nyoko asked. She meant only using taijutsu.

"Even if we go straight to the tower, we would most likely face at least 30 people. One of them would surely alert the others. The less shinobis we have to fight the easier it'll be to succeed in this mission," Naruto answered.

"The people inside will do 1 of 2 things. One, they'll either come out and try to find us or two they'll wait inside for us to find them."

"You're sure they won't run for it themselves?" Nyoko asked.

"No, I don't think they would. I can sense that they guys aren't that weak and they'll probably try to handle it instead. They also probably don't want to delay this meeting any further."

"How strong?" Jiraiya asked.

"Not that strong, but they outnumber us 2 to 1," Naruto answered.

"How long will your genjutsu last on the shinobis Nyoko?" Naruto asked her.

"About 20 minutes since I'll be casting it over a large radius," she answered.

"We'll reach there in about 5 minutes. That means we have 10 minutes to get the documents and 5 minutes to get out before the shinobis are released from the genjutsu."

"That's not a lot of time," Jiraiya said.

"Yes it isn't, but it's the best we can do," Naruto agreed.

"What'll happen if we don't make it out in time?" Nyoko asked.

"We'll have one hell of a party then," Naruto chuckled.

Nyoko frowned at his light-heartedness. She thought Naruto had a better plan for escaping just in case they couldn't get out in time.

"Don't worry, I believe in our abilities," Naruto said sensing that Nyoko didn't like their chances.

"4 against 150, right," Nyoko said in disbelief.

"You're forgot to add 4 strong people," Jiraiya said to her.

"Yes, Jiraiya's right. If I didn't think we would survive this, I would have called it off when we got here," Naruto said.

"Even after you were already given the mission?" Nyoko asked.

"Yes," Naruto answered. This made Nyoko stop worrying as much.

"Ready?" he asked the group. They nodded their head.

"Alright, go Nyoko," Naruto said. Nyoko started doing some hand seals, "Nehan Shouja no Jutsu (Temple of Nirvana Technique)." Feathers started to fall down on the town. Nyoko turned on her Sharingan and the four started running down the mountain as quickly as they could.

When they reached the tower Naruto did some hand seals, "Unseal." The invisible barrier turned yellow for a second and disappeared.

"Let's go," Naruto told the group. They went up the building until they reached the top floor and opened the door.

"Who do we have hear?" said a voice. The man in purple hair was smiling. He was around their age.

"We have 2 sannins, an Uchiha… and a worthless shinobi," a girl in a small shirt said. She had her orange hair in a bun.

"Hand over the documents and you won't die," Nyoko said to them.

They all laughed and the girl replied, "You're the one that's going to die here."

As she said this 2 members went for each of them. It was the girl in orange hair and a bald shinobi that came after Naruto. He dodged the girl's attack and punched her in the gut. This caused her to fall down. Before he could deal the final blow to her, he saw a kunai coming towards him and dodged that instead. She got back up and joined her partner.

"You're pretty fast," said the man who threw the kunai. Naruto took a glance at his teammates. _They're doing okay_.

Just then Naruto saw 5 fireballs coming towards him. He managed to dodge 4 of them, but was hit in the chest by 1 of them which caused him to be knocked down. Luckily for Naruto it wasn't a high level technique and he recovered from the attack quickly. As he looked up from the ground Naruto saw the bald man in the air with his sword ready to stab him. Naruto rolled out of the way of the attack and did a few hand seals while he was still on the floor, "Mini Tsurara (Mini Icicle)." Thousands of thin icicles shot towards the man piercing through him from head to toe. He dropped dead in a second.

Naruto looked to his right and saw that Tsunade had taken off one of the shinobi's head with her punch. Jiraiya had also killed a shinobi with his hair. Nyoko had sliced a shinobi's head off and her face was covered in the shinobi's blood. They were all even now.

"Run for it," a shinobi said and the remaining 4 tried to run, but they were all killed before they could run.

Naruto went to the headless shinobi and picked up the scroll. He sealed it in one of his scrolls.

"Well, that was easier than most A-ranked mission. I thought this was a S-ranked mission," Nyoko commented.

"It will be if we don't hurry," Naruto replied.

"We still got 5 minutes," Nyoko said.

"I don't want to take my chances. Let's move," Naruto told her and they proceeded down the stairs. When they opened the door they saw about a hundred shinobi staring at them with huge smiles.

"We hit the jackpot guys. There are 2 sannins, a Sharingan user, and…" the guy in green hair looked at Naruto. He never saw this man before, nor was he in the bingo book.

"Well, doesn't matter who he is," the man said.

Nyoko was looking at the man. It was obvious he was the leader. _How did they break out of my genjutsu so quick?_

The man looked at Nyoko and could tell what she was thinking, "Do you really think that out of this many shinobis there wouldn't be a single person who didn't know how to cancel genjutsus?"

"Why didn't you come after us before then?" Jiraiya asked him.

"We wanted to trap you instead. We weren't all awake yet so I decided to wait," the man answered.

"So you let your teammates die just to get us," Jiraiya said angrily.

"Yes, 8 person traded for 2 sannins and a Sharingan user. That's a pretty fair trade, don't you think?" he smiled.

_Disgusting_, Jiraiya thought. This man was willing to sacrifice his teammate just so he could have a better chance at killing them.

Naruto interrupted Jiraiya's thought and said in a calm voice, "Alright guys we need to stick together at all cost."

They immediately each put their back against each other, each facing a different direction. Kunais started coming at them and they proceed to block them.

"Jump now," Tsunade said and they all jumped. A huge fireball hit the ground where they previously stood. The group came back to the ground and reformed their formation.

_Damn, this will take longer than I thought,_ the green hair shinobi thought. He knew what would make them get out of their formation. The green hair shinobi reached into his kunai pouch and threw an explosive tag that was attached to a kunai. It landed near Nyoko.

"Get out of the way guys," Nyoko said when she saw the explosive tag.

They all jumped in different directions. They couldn't jump up this time because they knew the explosive would be too big. Each was immediately surround by dozens of shinobis.

A couple of shinobis came towards Naruto. He managed to dodge the first person's attack and grabbed his throat. He ripped the guy's atom's apple off. These shinobis are only about chuunin level. Naruto did a few hand seals and said, "Mini Tsurara (Mini Icicle)." About a dozen shinobis were caught by the ninjutsu and they immediately died. As the shinobis fell down Naruto saw something that petrified him. He saw Tsunade about 15 feet away on her hands and knee. A shinobi had both his hands up holding a sword ready to stab her.

"NO!!" Naruto yelled. With all his strength he immediately dashed near Tsunade. Just as the sword came down Naruto threw his body on top of her and the sword stabbed him in the lower back near his spinal cord. The pain was excruciating, but he knew he couldn't think about that. He turned around and kicked the guy 20 feet back. Naruto reached for the sword and pulled it out. Blood started running down his lower back.

He immediately felt Nyoko and Jiraiya come to his side along with hundreds of kunais. "Hari Jizou (Underworld Guardian Spikes)," Jiraiya's hair immediately came up to protect the team.

"Are you guys okay?" Nyoko asked Naruto and Tsunade.

"I'm fine," Naruto answered. He coughed up some blood.

"You're hurt Naruto, you should…" Nyoko tried to finish the sentence, but was interrupted.

Naruto slowly stood up, "I'm okay."

He knew what he had to do. Naruto knew that Jiraiya's hair wouldn't protect them for long. He hoped Jiraiya didn't hate him for what he was about to do, but this was the only way. Naruto did a long series of hand seals, "Kazangan Yomi (Lava of the Underworld)."

Jiraiya still had his hair around the team when suddenly he heard the screams of about a hundred shinobis.

"Keep protecting us," Naruto told Jiraiya. Naruto knew that there were still some shinobis on the rooftops and it would take a little bit longer before the houses were engulfed along with the shinobis.

After about a minute Naruto told Jiraiya, "Alright, that should be long enough." Jiraiya retracted his hair. When the group saw what Naruto had done they couldn't believe it. The whole town had disappeared. They were surrounded by molten lava as far as they could see. The mountain that they stood on early now resembled a volcano that had just erupted. The only thing that wasn't lava was the little land that they stood on.

"Naruto, it's nice that you killed all the enemy shinobis, but how are we going to get across this?" Nyoko asked him. Jiraiya already knew what he was going to do.

Naruto smiled at her and crossed his fingers, "Kage Bunshin." 4 clones appeared in the air and grabbed each of them by the wrist. They tossed them high into the air. Naruto crossed his fingers again, "Kage Bunshin." Another 4 clones appeared and started to throw them across the lava. This continued for about 10 minutes until they finally reached land. Naruto fell to the floor when he landed. He was a little exhausted from using his technique and so many clones. What bothered him more was the pain in his lower back.

"Well, that was an unexpected way of using shadow clones," Nyoko commented when she was on dry land.

"Are you tired? If you are we should rest," Jiraiya said to him.

"No, I want to get back," Naruto answered. They traveled late into the night before setting up camp.

"I'll be the watch. I'm not tired," Jiraiya told the group.

Naruto, Tsunade, and Nyoko immediately went to their respective tent. Just as Naruto was about to sleep he heard the tent slide open.

"Just wanted to see if you wanted something to eat," Jiraiya said to him. He was holding out his rations.

"I know it's not as good as your cooking, but if you're hungry," Jiraiya smiled.

As Naruto got up he felt his back hurt. He managed to sit up and took the ration, "Thanks." Naruto ate it quickly as Jiraiya sat down.

"Nice move you did back there."

"It was nothing."

"If it wasn't for you we might have been dead."

"I just tried to finish it quickly."

"Well, I'll be going to back outside now," Jiraiya told him.

With that Jiraiya left Naruto's tent.

Naruto laid down on his sleeping bag. At least one of the people he respected is trying to get to know him. This made him happy and he went to sleep.

The sun hasn't even risen yet when they woke up. They didn't want to linger in the forest too long as they were still in enemy territory. As Naruto sat up the pain in his lower back felt worst. He couldn't feel it as much yesterday because he was still high from the adrenaline, but that had wore off today. Naruto didn't want his team to worry so he willed himself to walk and move normally when he got outside his tent.

They packed everything and started to travel home. As they were traveling Naruto could sense that Nyoko kept giving him glances once in a while. It was about 8 o'clock at night when they reached Konoha.

"Can you guys give Sarutobi-sensei our mission report?" Naruto asked them.

"Sure, is there a reason why you're not coming?" Nyoko asked.

"I got something to do."

The group nodded and Naruto went to his house, unlocked his doors and went in. He immediately buckled over and was on his hands and knees. The pain in his lower back was excruciating. The truth was that he could barely keep up with the team when traveling home, but as the leader he couldn't show any weakness in front of them. He crawled inside his house and went to one of the drawers. Naruto took out some bandage and wrapped it around his stomach. After wrapping himself he lied on the couch. It was so relaxing, he felt that he could lie on the sofa all night.

It was about 5 minutes before he heard a knock on his door. He reluctantly got up and answered it.

Jiraiya was standing in front of him, "I didn't get to thank you for saving us before Naruto. I know this doesn't seem much because I've been such an ass to you, but 'thank you'," and Jiraiya took out his hand.

"Oh don't worry about it," Naruto took his hand and shook it.

"That's all I came here for. Just ask me whenever you need anything," Jiraiya said and started to leave. Naruto nodded and closed the door as Jiraiya left.

As Jiraiya was leaving Naruto's house he saw Nyoko. Jiraiya gave her a nod and left.

Naruto was just about to lie on his comfortable couch when he heard a knock. _God dammit, can't I just lie down in peace._ He went to answer the door.

"Hi Nyoko."

"Hi Naruto. I just came here to say 'thanks for saving us earlier," she smiled.

"Oh it was nothing."

Nyoko could tell something was wrong with him, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine."

He couldn't fool her though. She sensed it the whole trip. Nyoko was sure that Jiraiya and Tsunade also sensed it. Nyoko knew that Jiraiya, being a guy and out of respect for Naruto, would have said nothing to Naruto about his pain. _Stupid guys, always have to be so tough._ But, Tsunade on the other hand…

The thought about Tsunade made her angry and she had to take care of some business, "Oh, okay then. That's all I wanted to say." Nyoko left.

Naruto closed the door as she left and went to lie on his couch.

Nyoko was jumping from roof to roof until she reached Tsunade's house. When she got there she banged on the door. When there wasn't any answer she banged on the door again.

"Damn Nyoko, don't have to bang the door so loud."

"Have you thanked Naruto yet?" Nyoko asked in a loud voice.

"No. Why should I?" Tsunade asked.

"Why should you?" she said in disbelief. "He saved your life, not once, but twice," she said very loud.

"That's what a shinobi should do," Tsunade answered.

This made Nyoko even angrier. She couldn't believe the words coming out of her best friend's mouth. This Tsunade wasn't the same person that she grew up with. Her right hand stiffened and before she knew it she slapped Tsunade real hard across the face. Tsunade looked at her with wide eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked Tsunade in a disgusted tone.

"You're not the same person I grew up with. I know you felt Naruto's pain back there. Why didn't you fucking heal him? I was going to tell you earlier, but I was glad I didn't. I was going to see if you would heal him by yourself. I thought you were, but I guess I was greatly mistaken. What has he done to you Tsunade? He hasn't did anything wrong, but yet you treat him so bad."

Tsunade could sense that this wasn't the usual 'hook-up talk' that Nyoko was always trying to do. Tsunade could tell that Nyoko was very serious.

"Was it because he beat you? I thought you would get over that."

_No, it wasn't because he beat me,_ Tsunade thought.

"Even Jiraiya got over that," Nyoko continued.

Tsunade eyes widen a little and Nyoko caught this.

"Yes, he even went and thanked Naruto. I saw him leaving when I went there. Please tell me what he has done to you to received such treatment because I only seen him being friendly towards you."

Tsunade had no answer for this.

"I can't believe I call someone like you my friend. Dan would be disappointed in a person like you," Nyoko said. She left quickly before Tsunade could say anything.

Tsunade was standing on the doorway speechless holding one of her hand on her face where Nyoko slapped her. This was the first time Nyoko ever brought up Dan after his death.

She began to think over what Nyoko said. _Did she take her little grudge against Naruto too far?_ Nyoko was right, except for that one incident all Naruto had tried to do was be nice to her. She knew that she was wrong for the way that she treated him. Tsunade left her house and went outside the village where she first met him. I know it's somewhere out here. It took about 20 minutes before she finally found it. She saw the orange jacket lying on the ground, though it looked very trashy for being out in the forest for this long. Tsunade picked it up and returned to the village.

She went to Naruto's house and knocked on the door. It took a little while before he opened the door. She saw that he was in a cooking apron.

"Oh hi Tsunade." He made sure not to look down because he knew Tsunade hated that.

Tsunade stretch out her hands while holding the jacket, "thank you for covering me with this during that one time. I'm sorry I didn't return it after I used it. It's still dirty but…"

Naruto smiled and took his jacket. He could tell Tsunade was truly sorry.

"Thanks. I'm sorry for putting you and Jiraiya…"

Tsunade interrupted him, "I'm also sorry for not thanking you earlier for saving me twice." She couldn't look at Naruto when she said this. She was too ashamed of herself and instead looked to the side.

"It's okay, that's what shinobis should do," Naruto answered.

She was going to say something, but suddenly felt something grab her hand. This surprised her and made her heart jump. She looked down and saw a little boy holding her hand. In the other hand he was holding a water balloon.

"Hello, my name is Nakashima Arashi. Wow, I know who you are, you're one of the sannins. Are you joining us? Naruto-sensei is going to cook right now," Arashi said in an innocent voice. Before she could say anything the little boy had already pulled her inside the house.

"You're Tsunade-chan right," Arashi said more like an answer than a question.

"Can you heal Naruto-sensei, he's really hurt," Arashi asked her. This crushed her, hearing the little boy asking her to heal his sensei. She let Naruto suffered just because of her own selfishness.

"Arashi," Naruto said in a little harsh voice indicating that to Arashi that he shouldn't have asked that.

"That's one of the reasons why I came," Tsunade looked down at the little boy. Arashi gave her a huge smile and went to sit on the couch with his water balloon. Tsunade went behind Naruto as he was cooking.

"I'm also sorry for not healing you earlier," Tsunade told him. "Where is the wound?" she asked him.

He lifted his shirt, showing his lower back that was covered in bandages. Tsunade carefully took the bandage off. When she saw the wound, it was worst than she thought. The wound was getting infected. If he didn't heal this soon it could leave a scar.

"I have to reopen the wound to take out the residue. It could sting," Tsunade told him. He nodded. Her hands glowed a light green color and Naruto's wound started to bleed. Black blood started coming out and after a minute it started to seal itself again.

"Thanks," he said in a nice voice and pulled down his shirt. She knew she didn't receive his thanks. Tsunade sat on one of the chairs in the dining room and looked at the little boy. She could tell that he was deeply concentrating on his water balloon, moving the water inside.

Arashi stopped for a minute and examined Naruto's jacket. He really liked the symbol on the back, "Naruto-sensei, is this your clan symbol?"

"You could say that," Naruto answered him. He was still in the kitchen.

"It's a very cool design," Arashi said.

Arashi put down the water balloon and tried on the jacket to see how it would look. It was way too big for him. He took it off and went back to concentrating on his water balloon.

It was about 5 more minutes when Naruto finished cooking. Arashi came to the table to join Naruto and Tsunade. He also brought his water balloon to the table.

Naruto cooked some friend rice with pork this time. Again it was delicious.

"This is good," Tsunade said.

"Thank you," Naruto answered.

Tsunade looked at the boy and was curious. He had already finished his plate and was concentrating on his water balloon again, this time so deep in concentration that his tongue was sticking out at the side of his mouth.

"What game are you playing with your water balloon?"

"I'm not playing, I'm training," Arashi told her happily.

"Training?"

"I've got to pop this water balloon using my chakra. That's what Naruto-sensei told me to do."

"Pop the water balloon?"

"Yes, it's the first step. After I pop the water balloon with my chakra, we'll go to the next step. Naruto-sensei could you show it to Tsunade-chan?"

Naruto laughed.

"Come on Naruto-sensei, pop the water balloon," Arashi begged him. He wanted her to be impressed.

Tsunade was also interested, "Yea Naruto, can you show me?"

After a moment Naruto took the water balloon in his hands. Tsunade saw little bumps on the balloon unlike how Arashi was doing it and it suddenly popped. _I see, he's rotating it in many directions unlike what Arashi is doing. Naruto's not just going to show it to him directly. He wants Arashi to figure it out himself._

When Arashi saw her face, he could see that she wasn't really impressed by what his sensei did.

"Show Tsunade-chan the real jutsu sensei," he told Naruto happily with a big smile. He really wanted a sannin to be impressed by his sensei.

"I don't think she wants to see a weak jutsu," Naruto answered him with a smile.

"Please, please, please show her," Arashi was holding his hands together like he was praying.

Arashi looked over to Tsunade and said excitedly, "It's not weak. Naruto-sensei is just lying. It ripped apart a guy that was completely made out of metal."

"Yes, show it to me Naruto," Tsunade said in interest.

"Okay, I guess it couldn't hurt."

Tsunade looked at Naruto. He brought up his right hand and suddenly there was a beautiful blue sphere above Naruto's hand. It was rotating so fast that it made her sort of dizzy just by looking at it. She could tell this wasn't a regular jutsu.

Arashi saw that Tsunade was impressed and this made him happy. "See, it's very powerful and I'm going to learn it." He got up from the table and filled another balloon with water. He went to sit on the couch in the living and continued to try and pop the balloon. Tsunade and Naruto were still sitting together at the small dining table looking at him.

Tsunade said in a very low voice so that Arashi couldn't hear, "Naruto, I can tell that's a hard jutsu. Are you sure you're not setting him up for failure?"

"He'll be fine."

Arashi was looking at the water balloon. When his sensei popped the balloon for Tsunade Arashi noticed that something different. When his sensei popped the water balloon it had bumps while his was just swirling side to side. He thought hard about this then it clicked. He reached out his hand and tried rotating his chakra in many different directions. The balloon suddenly popped. Arashi's eye grew wide.

Naruto saw what he just did and smiled at him, "Good job Arashi." Tsunade also gave him a smiled.

"I did it. I finished the first step," Arashi was very joyful as he said this.

"What's the second step Naruto-sensei?" Arashi ask excitedly. He was eager to start on the second step.

"I'll tell you guys some time later. You can tell Kioko and Seishin how you did it."

After eating Tsunade thanked Naruto for the food and left the house. Arashi also left when Tsunade left.

Arashi went to his house a few doors down, "Bye Tsunade-chan. It was nice meeting you."

"Bye Arashi. I'll see you around."

Tsunade got home and saw Nyoko standing in front of her house.

"I'm sorry for what I did. My emotions got the better of me," she told Tsunade.

Tsunade raise up one of her hands to stop her, "It's alright, I deserved that."

Immediately both of their friendship was restored.

"So, you went to his house then?" Nyoko asked her in great interest.

"Yes, I did. I went and apologize to him."

"When did you go?"

"I went after you told me."

Nyoko calculated how long it was when she told Tsunade off, "That was about 2 hours ago."

Nyoko gave Tsunade a huge grin, "What were you guys doing?"

Tsunade regretted telling Nyoko the recent information. "We didn't do anything."

"Apologizing doesn't take 2 hours Tsunade. So, tell me all about it," Nyoko said to her.

Tsunade could see that Nyoko wasn't going to leave her alone until she told her, "He cooked dinner for me and one of his students. His student is an orphan, judging where he lived."

"Hmm, dinner," Nyoko gave Tsunade a even bigger smile.

"It wasn't anything like that," Tsunade answered.

"How was it then?" Nyoko asked.

"As expected he didn't hate me for not healing him right away. His student really seemed to admire him. He kept bugging Naruto to show me his technique," Tsunade said.

"Show you his technique," Nyoko laughed sadistically.

"Damn it Nyoko, if you're going to keep your mind in the gutter I might as well not tell you anything," Tsunade said in a high voice.

"Fine I was just joking with you. I know it wasn't anything like that. Go on."

"Other than that we didn't talk much. His cooking was good as you probably already know."

Nyoko gave a slight frown, "Does he like you or seem interested in you?"

Tsunade raised her eyebrows, "I don't know, can't expect him to just say something like that, can we."

"That's not what I meant. I know that you can usually tell when a person likes you or not. So, does he like you or seem interested?"

Tsunade thought back when she was with Naruto. She tried to see if there was any sign that Naruto left that suggested that he liked her in that way.

"Actually no, he doesn't seem interested. At least in the type of way that you're asking."

Nyoko looked at Tsunade to see if she was lying or not. She couldn't find any trace that Tsunade was lying.

"He does seem interested in you though, right?"

She was tapping her chin with her fingers in thought, "I think so. It seems like he really wants to get to know me better, but not in that way. What's the point? Does it even matter? What matters is that he's an okay guy."

"Are you interested in him?" Nyoko knew she was stepping over the line a little with this question, but she still wanted to ask.

Tsunade thought for a moment, "He's an okay guy." She was getting very annoyed by Nyoko's questions.

Just as Nyoko was about to ask her another question Tsunade went into the house and locked the door.

"Hey! I'm not finished with you. You come back out here right now," Nyoko yelled, but Tsunade ignore her and went to bed.

_Jutsu descriptions:_

**Nehan Shouja no Jutsu: Temple of Nirvana Technique**- (A-class) A genjutsu is cast over a large radius. It causes people to go unconscious. This genjutsu is in the manga.

**Mini Tsurara: Mini Icicle-** (A-rank) A ninjutsu that shoots out about a ten thousand little water icicles. While these are not real ice (it's still liquid), the user hardens the water which causes them to look like ice. These icicles are about as thin as a hair and as long a pencil.

**Hari Jizou: Underworld Guardian Spikes**- (B-rank) A ninjutsu that covers the person in hair. It is a defensive jutsu. This jutsu is in the manga.

**Kazangan Yomi: Lava of the Underworld**- (S-rank) A ninjutsu that is very similar to the Swamp of the Underworld. The difference is that it forms a huge lava bed instead of a swamp. Naruto just created this move after learning Swamp of the Underworld from Jiraiya.


	7. Ch 7:Stealth

7/15/07

**Chapter 7:Stealth**

After eating breakfast and taking a shower, Naruto washed and dried his jacket. He put it on, grabbed a large red backpack and went to Arashi's house.

"Hey Naruto-sensei. What are we going to do today? Are we going to go to step 2 of the training?" Arashi asked excitedly as he opened the door.

"Let's go and get Kioko and Seishin before I tell you guys what we're doing," Naruto answered him. With that they went to retrieved Kioko and Seishin and set off to the training ground.

"Why are we here Naruto-sensei?" asked Kioko.

"Well first off one of you managed to pop the water balloon," Naruto answered.

"Wait Arashi, you popped the balloon?" asked Kioko.

Arashi held up the water balloon and made it 'pop.'

"Ha, I won the bet," he said excitedly.

"How'd you do it?" asked Seishin.

"Don't rotate the chakra in one way. You have to rotate it in many different directions," Arashi told them. Seishin and Kioko started rotating their water balloons and suddenly it popped also. They gave a look at Naruto.

"You should have told us that earlier Naruto-sensei," Kioko said to him.

"I wanted you guys to find out on your own," Naruto said.

"What's the next step?" Kioko asked excitedly.

"Not so fast. Today we're going to do something else," Naruto answered. He saw their faces frown a little as he told them this, but they quickly hid it.

"Don't worry, what we're doing today is very important for a shinobi. Even more important than learning the next step of the jutsu," Naruto said.

"Are we training then?" asked Seishin.

"Yes, just the 4 of us," Naruto answered.

"So are we learning a new jutsu? Cool," Arashi said excitedly.

"Not quite. We're going to train on stealth and detection."

Again he saw the frown on their faces. This time they didn't try to hide it.

"What's wrong?" he asked them.

"We already learned that in the academy. It's really easy. How will stealth and detection help us get stronger? Every shinobi had to pass a test on stealth and detection even before becoming a genin," Seishin said.

Naruto sighed, "You're correct and incorrect at the same time Seishin. Yes, every shinobi has to be to be stealthy and they also have to know how to detect, but where you're wrong is when you said that practicing stealth and detection won't make you stronger. Stealth and detection are fundamentals of being a shinobi."

"But how will it help us? Wouldn't learning more ninjutsu be better? Wouldn't that make us stronger than stealth and detection?" Arashi asked Naruto. He also didn't want to spend the day training on stealth and detection. He had enough of that in the academy.

"It won't matter how strong you are if you weren't able to detect the person that is attacking. You could be dead before you even know it. Being stealthy gives you a quick preemptive attack and the battle could be well over before it even started. Being good at detection prevents this exact thing from happening to you. So that's why stealth and detection are very important and must always be improved on. Again, this isn't just training for you guys, I'm training myself also."

They still didn't look convinced. "Trust me on this guys, it'll save your life more than once."

Knowing that Naruto wouldn't lie to them they nodded their head.

"Okay, so what are we going to do then?" Kioko asked.

Naruto set his bag down and opened it. What they saw were dozens and dozens of kunais. But, they looked a little different. The end of the kunai was blunt and they didn't have a shiny look to them like real kunais.

"We'll be practicing with these," Naruto said as he took one out. "These are plastic kunais with blunt ends."

"Why aren't we practicing with real kunais?" Arashi asked.

"Because what we're doing today is dangerous and if we practiced with real kunais it could get us kill so we'll be using these instead. What we're doing today is real simple. We'll be playing tag with the kunais and it'll be me against you three."

"There are a few rules and things to remember. The first rule is that we won't be using any jutsus during this training. The second rule is that you have to stay in the boundary. I have made these kunais work in special ways. The first thing that I have modified is that once these kunais drop on the ground they'll disappear. You can't go back and get them."

"So we have only a limited supply?" Seishin asked.

"Yes, that's right. This works on how you manage your inventory because you can't always pack the maximum amount for a mission. Sometimes you have to give some things up and make room for other stuff."

"I have also modified these kunais to paralyze anything that they touch."

"We can't block it the incoming kunai with ours then?" Kioko asked.

"You could, but you have to throw it. If you block the incoming kunai while still holding onto yours then it'll paralyze you."

"These kunais will paralyzed you until one of your teammates comes and touches you. Once you're touch by another person you'll be able to move again."

"Wait up. So we'll be able to 'free' our teammates then?" Arashi asked.

"Yes, that's correct, I'll have to get all three of you before you guys are 'it.'"

Arashi grinned. He already had a plan. This was going to be easier than he thought. _How can his sensei catch all three of them if they are able to set their teammates free?_

"Since it's you three against me I have modified these kunais to help you guys. Your kunais are different from mine. One modification I have made is your kunai will heat up for a moment if your teammate has been tagged. If one of your teammate has been set free then it'll get cold for a moment. That's how you will be able to tell if your teammates has been caught and/or freed. If you all get tagged then you'll be released from the paralysis. That's how you guys will know that your 'it.' If you guys tag me then it'll give you a slight shock. Nothing big, but that's when you guys know that you've gotten me. Got it all then?"

Kioko answered, "We'll be playing tag with these special kunais that paralyze anything that they touch. Therefore to block an incoming kunai we have to use one of ours. We have special kunais that tell us what's happening to our other teammates. If one gets 'tagged' then it'll heat up. If one gets 'freed' then it'll cool down. If we all get caught then it'll let us out of the paralysis and that's when we're 'it.' If we tag you then it'll give us a slight shock indicating that we are no longer 'it.'"

"Yep, that's all there is to it. Easy enough right," Naruto said. He took out all the kunais and gave them 70 kunais each. He took out 20 for himself.

"I thought you said this exercise also help us managed our inventory? You gave us 70, that's only 15 less than the maximum," Arashi said.

"And you only have 20," Kioko said.

"Don't worry, I'll manage."

"You also mentioned boundaries. Where are the boundaries?" Seishin asked.

"Oh yea, since this is a stealth and detection training I figured we should do this in the dark. You have to stay in the darkness," Naruto told them.

"But it's 10 in the morning. Are you going to give us blindfolds?" Seishin asked.

Just as Seishin finished his sentence he saw Naruto do a few hand seals, "Kokuangyou no Jutsu."

Suddenly he was surrounded by complete darkness. Seishin put his hands right to his eyes and couldn't see anything. This was way darker than anything he experienced before.

"Alright guys, we'll practice until 2. I'll be 'it' first. I'll give you 30 minutes to hide before I start trying to catch you guys," Naruto told the group.

The 3 left with Kioko in the front, Arashi in the middle and Seishin in the rear.

"Damn, this is a lot darker than blindfolds that's for sure," Arashi said as they were traveling.

"Yeah I can't see anything in front of me. We can't even use our eyes. Let's hope we get used to the dark soon so that we can see a little," Kioko said.

After 5 minutes of distancing themselves from Naruto Seishin spoke up, "You guys have a plan?"

Arashi answered, "I got one and sensei will have a hard time catching us with this plan."

"What's your plan?" Kioko asked him.

"Easy. Remember sensei saying that we could free each other?"

They answered, "Yes and?"

"If we all stick together than it'll be easy for him to tag us right? It'll be like a huge target instead of 3 little targets."

"Okay so we split up?" Kioko said.

"Yes, but that's not all. We also split up in 3 different directions so that we're the furthest that we can be from each other. I will go south. Kioko you go northwest and Seishin you go northeast. If your kunai heating up stop moving immediately."

"How will that help us though?" Seishin asked.

"Easy, once he tags one of us he has to tag another one right. So let's say one of us gets and the other 2 feels their kunai heating up. This is the next part of the plan. Once you feel your kunai heating up, stop moving immediately. This is very important. The reason for this is because he might wait for an ambush. But, if the other 2 doesn't come then he can wait all he wants."

"What happens if he comes after one of the other 2?" Kioko asked.

"I'm getting to that, don't worry. Let's say instead of waiting sensei comes after one of the other 2. Whoever sensei goes after should move in the opposite direction of the first person that was captured. This will put distance between sensei and the first person that he caught. This will also act as a signal for the last person to move. As soon as the third person, the one who sensei isn't going after, feels the other person moving they will go and free the first person that was tagged. After freeing the first person, the two will split up in different directions again. Even if sensei managed to tag the other person we'll just repeat the whole process again because 2 people will always be free. Remember, sensei said that jutsus were forbidden so we won't have to worry about any clones guarding the first person that was caught. See? He can't get all 3 of us at the same time if we just stick to the game plan."

"So, if we feel our kunai heat up, don't move until we feel the another person moving," Kioko said, just to make sure of the plan.

"Yes, it's like a signal," Arashi said.

Kioko thought about the plan. It was real good and she couldn't see any holes. She smiled to herself when she thought about what their sensei was going to do in this situation, "Yea, sensei won't be able to get all three of us at the same time if we just follow the game plan."

"Ha, I can't wait to see the look on sensei's face after this training," Seishin said.

"Alright, let's move out," Arashi said and so they did.

Arashi was moving tree to tree by himself for about an hour and a half already and his eyes still couldn't penetrate the darkness. So far, his kunai hasn't heat up so that was good news. _The others are doing alright_, he thought to himself. It was about another 15 minutes before he felt something. His bag and the kunai in his hand got a lot warmer. It wasn't burning, but he could tell that this was the signal that meant one of his teammates got caught. Immediately he hid under some bushes and waited. _I wonder who got caught?_

Kioko was paralyzed from head to toe. She felt her sensei jump in front of her.

"Good job, you've dodged a lot of my attacks and it took some time to catch you," Naruto said to her. From where his voice was coming from she could tell that he was in front of her.

She sensed him jumping into the trees.

_Was he going to wait for the other 2 and ambush them when they come?_ She smiled to herself knowing that they wouldn't come. It was about 30 minutes before he jumped down from the trees.

"Looks like they aren't coming for you, Kioko. If they're not coming then I guess I'll have to go after them," Naruto told her.

Arashi was still under the bush, waiting. It looked like their sensei was going to wait for an ambush instead of chasing after the remaining 2. There's no way his plan could fail now. All he has to do is wait and play his role. All of the sudden he felt a kunai come his way and managed to block it by throwing one of his kunai._ Now_, he thought to himself and he quickly left the bushes. Just as he left he felt someone northeast of him moved also. That means that it was Kioko who got caught. I must move southeast, and he did just that. He moved from left to right in an unorganized manner, but still traveling southeast. Arashi knew that he had to buy Seishin as much time as possible and he could feel his sensei trying to corner him. He felt something coming from behind and threw one of his kunais at it to block it, but suddenly felt another something coming from the front. Arashi tried to dodge it, but was too slow and he was suddenly paralyzed in mid jump. As he got ready for the impact he felt someone grab his waist.

"You weren't as good as Kioko, but you've managed to buy some time. I think you were too worried about using your equipment," Naruto told him as he set Arashi down on the floor.

Arashi wasn't worried though. Anytime now he should feel his kunai cooling down.

_What was taking so long? Seishin should have gotten to Kioko by now_, he thought to himself. What was even more intriguing was that his sensei hasn't left.

"I wonder. Who came up with your guys' plan? Was it you? It's a pretty good plan actually. If I catch one person the other 2 stops moving also. This way I can't ambush you guys. It forces me to have to go other one of the 2 remaining if I want to catch all 3 of you. But, if I go after one of the remaining 2, I'll leave the first person unguarded which leaves the 3rd person free to release the first person. As soon I go after the second person the 3rd person also move. This will signal who got caught and tell the person I'm chasing which way to go so that they could put as much distance as possible between me and the other two. Because I said that we can't use any jutsus you guys don't have to worry about shadow clones or anything."

"Then why are you still here if you've figured all this out? Wouldn't you want to catch Seishin right now?" Arashi asked. He was paralyzed, but was still able to talk.

Naruto chuckled, "There's no way I can catch him at this distance. By the time I reach there, they would have already split up again. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

"Wait and see what…," but before he could finish the sentence he felt his kunais warm up again for the 3rd time. He moved his body and to his surprise he was able to move.

"But how?" Arashi asked his sensei. Even though he couldn't see he could tell his sensei was in front of him.

"You've forgotten one major thing in your calculations. Traps. You guys are 'it' now so I've got to be off."

And with that he felt his sensei leaving him. _How could he have been so stupid? Of course, his sensei set up traps where Kioko was at before coming after him. His sensei wasn't waiting for an ambush. He was setting up traps during that time._ Arashi cursed himself for overlooking something so simple.

He could sense where the other 2 were located so he went to join them.

As he got there, he jumped down to where he felt their presence.

"It was all my fault. I forgot the simplest thing," Arashi said as he joined the group.

"Don't worry about it. It was all of our faults. We forgot it also," Seishin said.

"Yeah, I didn't even know he was putting it up and I wasn't even able to warn Seishin. I thought he was just waiting for an ambush, but he was really setting up traps," Kioko said.

"Man, my eyes still aren't used to the dark," Arashi said.

"I think that's how the jutsu works. But, lets get back to the real problem. What do we do now?" Kioko asked the group.

"How much kunais do you guys still have?" Seishin asked them.

"I've lost about 15 just defending myself," Kioko answered.

"I've lost 2," Arashi answered.

"Alright I've lost about 13. How many kunais did you guys make sensei use?" Seishin asked the group.

"I would say about 7," Kioko said.

"3, I think," Arashi answered.

"That trapped used about 6 kunais, which means he'll only have 4 kunais left. If we plan this, we could get him. We still have a lot of kunais between us. And we know for a fact that we probably won't tag him just by throwing kunais at him."

"That's true," Kioko agreed.

"So, that means we'll have to set up a trap for him. We'll have to make him fall into this trap. With only 4 kunais at his disposal, he won't be able to block all of it. Let's set it up then," Seishin told the group. With that they went into a different location and started building up their trap. It took about 30 minutes of working together to finish their trap.

After finishing they got together again. "Okay, it's all finished. We still need some kunais so that we can force him to fall into our trap. Together we have about 60 kunais left. We have to make this work or we've lost. It's a one shot deal. Alright now all we have to do is find him. Let's look for him together because we won't be able to force him to the trap with only one person," Seishin said to the group.

It took a long time before they finally felt something behind them.

Arashi immediately threw a kunai behind him and heard a soft 'wiff' noise indicating that someone just moved out of the way. Kioko and Seishin jumped away from Arashi so that they could cover more ground. They worked together flawlessly trying to force their sensei to where their trap was. After about 30 minutes they weren't far from the trap.

_Come on, only a few more feet_, Kioko thought to herself. She was running low of kunais and she knew the other 2 was also running low.

Then all of the sudden kunais started shooting from every direction. _Yes!_ Kioko thought to herself.

There was no time to celebrate yet though and she could sense her sensei moving very quickly to avoid the kunais. _Impossible, there's no way he could dodge that many kunais coming from so many different directions._ But, she knew that it was exactly was he was doing. After about 20 seconds she felt a slight shock on her hands indicating that Naruto had been tagged.

"Well, that was good," Naruto said. Suddenly they could see again.

"That's it for the training? But we still have about 15 minutes left," Arashi said.

"Well, I wasted all my kunais already so I can't tag you guys. That was a pretty good trap you guys set up."

The group felt satisfied knowing that they got their sensei.

"That was cool. You've managed to dodge all those kunais," Kioko said.

"Well, not all. I got hit didn't I?" Naruto said.

"Well I thought you would have gotten hit earlier," Kioko said.

"That was a fun game. We should do this again. I never thought stealth and detection would be this fun," Seishin said in an excited voice.

The other 2 nodded in agreement.

"Since you've guys won, lets say I treat you all to lunch. I'm getting pretty hungry myself," Naruto told the team.

When they reached the restaurant Naruto saw that Jiraiya was sitting at a corner. He was about to join him when he felt something pull his hand in a different direction.

It was Arashi that was pulling his hand, "Let's go sit with Tsunade-chan."

Arashi saw that Tsunade was sitting in the corner with a girl that he didn't know. Tsunade was the first older girl that he ever talked to and he liked her. Plus, he wanted to talk with her some more.

Before Naruto could answer Arashi was already pulling him towards Tsunade and Nyoko.

"Hi Naruto. Is this your team? Are you guys joining us for lunch?" Nyoko asked as Naruto and the group went to their table.

"If that's okay with you girls?" Arashi asked for Naruto.

"Sure it's okay," Nyoko smiled at the little boy. They slid down the table to allow more room so that Naruto and his team could sit. Nyoko, Kioko, and Seishin were on one side while Tsunade, Naruto, and Arashi were on the other. Arashi was in between Naruto and Tsunade while Kioko was in between Nyoko and Seishin.

Kioko was looking up at Nyoko, "I never seen you before. I know all the jounins and some chuunins, but I haven't seen you."

"I'm Nyoko. The reason why you don't see me is because I'm an ANBU member."

"Wow, that's awesome. You must have killed plenty of people then," Kioko said.

Nyoko laughed, "A few, here and there." She already took a liking to the kid.

"Hi Tsunade-chan," Arashi said to her happily and looking up.

"Hi Arashi, what did you do today?" Tsunade asked him.

"We were training how to detect better and also to be stealthier," Arashi answered.

"That's good. You know that those are two of the most important attributes of being a shinobi," Tsunade asked him.

"I thought that it would be boring at first, but it was real fun," Arashi told her.

"Really? What did you guys do?" Tsunade asked him and Arashi began explaining about the kunais and the jutsu that Naruto used so that it would be completely dark.

"Wow, maybe I should use that sometimes. I can never find out an interesting way to train in stealth and detection. And here I am in ANBU," Nyoko said. She was also listening to how Naruto was training them.

Just then the waiter arrive and they ordered their food.

Noticing that Arashi was looking at her Tsunade asked, "Is there something you wish to ask Arashi?"

"Why is your chest so big Tsunade-chan?" Arashi asked her. He always wondered this when he was younger, but not knowing any older girls he couldn't ask them. Now that he knew Tsunade he decided to ask her.

Nyoko covered her mouth and began to laugh while Naruto just smiled to himself. Tsunade turned slightly pink.

Arashi saw that Naruto and Nyoko were laughing so he decided to add, "Not only you, but all the older girls. I figure I would ask you since you have the biggest one so you probably know the most."

This made Nyoko laugh even harder.

Tsunade didn't know how to answer the kid. She could tell that it was just a real innocent question that the boy wanted to know.

Just then she heard the other little boy speak up.

"Easy, girls can't control their chakra output like guys. Therefore, the bigger the chest the stronger they are," Seishin said.

"That's not true," Kioko said when she heard Seishin.

"Yea, it is. I also questioned myself about this before and my parents never told me the answer. So after thinking about it for a long time I came up with this conclusion," Seishin said.

"Well, it's wrong," Kioko said.

"No, your wrong."

"Prove it then."

"Fine," Seishin answered irritably. "Are you strong? Look at your chest. Who's the strongest girl in this village?" Seishin asked her. He didn't wait for an answer for everyone knew that Tsunade was the strongest.

"Now, look at her chest. My point is proven," Seishin said. He crossed his arms in triumph.

Kioko didn't know how to answer. Tsunade was the strongest in the village and her chest was the biggest. She was beginning to sweat, "Well, what about all the non-shinobis then? I see many non-shinobis that have chest."

"Well, are they as big as Tsunade-chan's? And this only applies to shinobis," Seishin said in a victorious voice.

"That's not true. Tell them it's not true Nyoko," Kioko pleaded.

Nyoko was laughing at Seishin's explanations. _It was quite good, though it was completely wrong_, she thought.

"No, it's not true," Nyoko answered.

"Told you," Kioko said.

"She just wants to comfort you," Seishin answered.

Arashi thought about the 2 explanations before saying to Nyoko, "Wow Nyoko, you're pretty strong also."

Nyoko just chuckled.

"Arashi, don't tell me you believe Seishin's explanation," Kioko said to him. She slapped herself on her forehead in disbelief when she saw that Arashi was bought into Seishin's theory.

"Well, it was better than yours," Arashi answered. Just then the food came and they started eating.

Arashi looked up at Tsunade again and said, "Even if it doesn't measure how strong you are, I think its very nice Tsunade-chan."

"Thank you," Tsunade said looking down at him.

Arashi also wanted to know what Naruto thought, "Naruto-sensei, what do you think of Tsunade-chan's chest?"

Naruto and Tsunade turned bright red at this while Nyoko almost choked on her food. She managed to swallow the food, but was now trying to hold back her laughter, though it was really hard. She really didn't want the boy to pull back his question by laughing too hard.

It was about 15 seconds before Arashi pulled on Naruto's jacket. He wasn't sure if Naruto heard him the first time and wanted to see what his sensei thought, "Naruto-sensei, what do you think of Tsunade-chan's chest?"

"Yeah Naruto, didn't you hear Arashi? He wants to know what you think of Tsunade's chest," Nyoko said innocently. Nyoko received a cold glare from Tsunade, but she didn't care.

Naruto looked down at Arashi and answered, "They're very nice."

Arashi smiled knowing that his sensei agreed with him, "I'm glad you think that also."

Just when they finished their food, Sakumo came in and walked over to Naruto.

When he got there he could tell that his presence seemed to upset Nyoko. He knew that she didn't hate him, quite the contrary they were good friends. Sakumo knew that he was walking into something that she didn't want him too.

"I was just wondering if you and your team have a mission right now," Sakumo asked Naruto.

"No, not right now, why?"

"I've got a mission and I need some more people. Sarutobi-sensei said that I could take anyone. I was planning on taking you and your team."

"What rank is it?"

"A-rank."

Naruto didn't like this. He thought it was too high of a rank for his new team.

Knowing what Naruto was thinking Sakumo said, "Don't worry I'll die before your team if it came to that."

He was going to reject the mission until he looked on his teams' face. They had fire in their eyes when they heard Sakumo said A-rank.

"Before I accept I'll have to see what kind of mission it is."

"Of course, I was just wondering if you were interested. Shall we go?"

"Sure," Naruto and his team got up from the table.

They all started to leave when Sakumo looked back at Nyoko and Tsunade, "Sorry about that Nyoko, Tsunade. I'll make it up to you Nyoko."

She stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her hand indicating that she didn't like what he was doing. She really wanted Naruto and the group to stay. Things were just going smoothly until Sakumo showed up.

When they were outside Sakumo spoke up, "The mission is very simple. I have to escort a high ranking government official to the capital."

Naruto nodded. _So this is why Sakumo needed us. He really didn't need high-level shinobis, but just more eyes_.

"So, is it alright if you and your team help me?" Sakumo asked Naruto.

Naruto thought about it. _The only real reason why it was a high-ranking mission was probably because of the person that they were escorting._

"Sure, we'll help you on this mission."

"Alright, let's inform Sarutobi-sama."

--

_Hokage Tower_

"Hey Sarutobi, Naruto and his team are going to help me on this mission," Sakumo said to Sarutobi.

"Okay, come in Kin."

An old man about the age of 50 came in. The top of his head was bald and he wore a very big brown coat that went down to his knees. He also had a cane with him.

"Is this my escort?" he asked Sarutobi.

"Yes, you know Sakumo already. This is Naruto," Sarutobi said to him.

"Is he competent enough for the mission?" Kin asked in a rude manner.

"Of course he is," Sarutobi replied immediately. Kin didn't believe Sarutobi. He was always escorted by Sakumo and a person with a blood-line or 1 of the 3 sannins. This new person didn't look strong to him.

"Don't worry Kin, Naruto is one of the strongest shinobis here," Sakumo said.

"Alright if you say so," Kin replied. With that they left Hokage Tower and started on their mission.

They were walking through the woods all side by side while Kin was in the middle.

_It's not that far to the capital, but it'll take us pretty long if we're just walking, maybe half a day or so_, Naruto thought.

"You're 'The White Fang,' right?" Seishin asked about 30 minutes into the walk.

"That's correct," Sakumo answered.

"Are you stronger than the sannins?" Kioko asked very interested. She heard that 'The White Fang' was stronger than each of the sannins.

Sakumo smiled at her and told her the truth, "I can beat them 1 vs. 1 sometimes. With them working together it's real hard, but once in a while I beat them. I don't know why you guys are so interested anyways. Your sensei beat Jiraiya and Tsunade at the same time."

They all looked at Naruto in greater interest. The team never heard this information before.

"How come you never told us that before Naruto-sensei?" Kioko asked him.

Sakumo answered for Naruto, "There wasn't any reason for him to tell you guys."

"Naruto-sensei, are you stronger than Tsunade-chan then?" Arashi asked him. He was excited by the news.

Even though Naruto felt that he could easily take on Tsunade he didn't want to boast so he looked down at Arashi, "It depends on a lot of circumstances Arashi. Sometimes I will win while other times I will lose."

They all looked at Sakumo to see if he agreed with Naruto. Sakumo nodded his head showing them that Naruto was right.

They continue walking until around 5 o'clock when Naruto stopped them.

"You feel that?" Naruto asked the group and they nodded.

"Yes, there's 10 shinobis about a quarter of a mile away," Sakumo answered.

"They're coming for us. You guys stay put and protect Kin," Naruto said. He felt that these guys were chuunin to low jounin level and didn't want to put his team in trouble. Naruto also felt another person staying far behind. He could sense that this person was the strongest one.

The 3 kids got ready, holding their kunais in front of them while Sakumo took out his white chakra blade with Naruto taking out a kunai. They were standing side by side ready for the opponents.

"I get to see what you're made of," Sakumo grinned.

"So do I," Naruto replied.

Just then 9 shinobis appeared in front of them on the nearby trees. Sakumo immediately went to engage them and so did Naruto.

Naruto immediately killed a shinobi by slashing his throat as he engaged them. He turned around and gave another shinobi a right roundhouse kick to the shinobi's face. The kick was so hard that it caused the shinobi's neck to completely snap. His head hung at his side and he landed with a 'thud.' Naruto saw a sword coming down at him and managed to block it with his kunai. He grabbed the enemy's throat with his right hand and twisted it breaking his windpipe. The enemy made a gasp of air and dropped to the floor. Naruto immediately grabbed the sword from the dead enemy and made a sideways slash, cutting off 2 shinobis head. Blood gushed out as the heads came off.

Naruto looked to his side and saw that Sakumo had already taken care of the other shinobis easily. The rest of the team came next to Naruto and Sakumo.

There was a single shinobi that was 30 feet away from the action. He saw the whole thing and in less than 5 seconds his whole team was annihilated. This man was around age 25 and had blue hair that was shoulder length. It was also split right in the middle. His eyes were small and slanted that gave him a dangerous look. His body was medium sized, about the size of Orochimaru. And even though he team was just decimated, he was still as calm as can be. He wore the typical green vest with black long sleeve underneath and the typical blue pants.

He jumped in front of Naruto and Sakumo.

Sakumo glared at him, "If it isn't Seiji."

The man named Seiji made a grin at Sakumo then looked at Naruto for a second and immediately started running back.

The 3 kids were about to give chase, but they heard Naruto.

"No, don't follow."

"Why not, sensei?" Seishin asked.

Naruto could sense that this shinobi was stronger than the others. While he and Sakumo could probably be able to catch the opponent, Naruto knew that the kids were too slow. Plus, it would be too dangerous.

"It's not our mission. He's not going to come back."

"How do you know, sensei?" Kioko asked her sensei.

Sakumo answered, "He's going to give his report."

"His report?" asked Arashi.

"Yes, his report on Naruto. After seeing Naruto fight, he would give his report to the Raikage," Sakumo answered.

"But, that means we have to stop him," Arashi said to Sakumo.

Sakumo responded, "Sorry, but we can't. Like Naruto said, it isn't our mission. Plus, he's too fast."

Kioko looked down. She knew what Sakumo meant, "You mean he's too fast for us. If it was just you and sensei then you guys could catch him, right."

Naruto spoke up, "Don't worry. We wouldn't have gone after him anyways even if we could have. It's not the mission. Our mission was to protect Kin."

"But because of us, they'll find out more information about you. It'll put you in more danger," Arashi spoke up.

"They can have all the information they want. Now, lets not worry about him getting away. Lets worry about finishing this mission okay guys," Naruto answered.

The 3 nodded their heads and they went back to protecting Kin.

--

_Hidden Village of Cloud_

Seiji was traveling back to the Hidden Village of Cloud. He was thinking back about his mission. Seiji had failed the mission, but it was unavoidable. His mission was to kill 'The White Fang.' From what he saw, the blonde shinobi was extremely fast. Seiji had never seen this guy before and by the way that he moved Seiji knew that this guy was formidable. He had to escape to give the Raikage the new information. With a genin squad holding them back, Seiji knew that he and 'The White Fang' and the blonde wouldn't follow. If it was him, he would have given chase even if it meant putting his team in danger. But, Seiji knew that the Hidden Village of Leaf valued every shinobi even if they were just genins.

It was near nightfall before he reached the Hidden Village of Cloud. He immediately went to the Raikage Tower and went into the office. It was a square room that was lightly light by 2 candles and the Raikage was sitting on a mattress near the candles. Seiji took a knee and put his head down.

"Did you complete your mission?" the Raikage ask as he went in.

"No, I couldn't finish the mission. He was accompanied by another person."

"You had 9 other shinobis with you and you couldn't take out 'The White Fang'? I thought you were as strong as him? With an additional 9 shinobis you should have killed him. Was one of the sannins with him?" the Raikage said calmly, but his disappointment was very apparent.

"No, there wasn't a sannin with him," Seiji answered.

"A person with a blood-line?" the Raikage asked. He knew that Seiji would not have pulled back unless it was absolutely necessary.

"No, I don't think so. The weird thing is, I've never seen or heard of him before."

The Raikage narrowed his eyebrows, "But, he's strong. Am I correct?"

He had to be, the Raikage guessed. If he wasn't, then Seiji wouldn't have backed off.

"Yes."

"How strong?"

"I don't know his full capabilities because he didn't show it, but I would say at least as strong as 'The White Fang'."

"I would have figured about a sannin, but as strong as 'The White Fang?' This is bad news if what you say is true."

Seiji nodded in agreement. Even though they had Konoha outnumbered, Konoha had many high caliber shinobis.

"Why do you say this?" the Raikage was interested now.

"Because he took out 5 shinobis while 'The White Fang' only took out 4 shinobis. His speed is probably superior to 'The White Fang,' which is saying a lot."

The Raikage scratched his chin. "How does he look?"

Seiji got off his knees and grabbed a scroll. He immediately sketched out Naruto and gave his drawing to the Raikage. He described Naruto's hair-color, eye-colors, and skin color to give a better description.

The Raikage looked at the sketch intensely and to his surprise the shinobi looked as young as the sannins, "Wait, so he's younger than 'The White Fang.'"

"Yes, if I had to guess, I would say that he's younger."

"Alright, I want you to keep an eye out for this new shinobi. Don't engage him yet until you know his full capabilities. Just report to me whenever you find anything interesting," the Raikage told him.

Seiji nodded and left the room.

The Raikage was thinking to himself. Seiji is the 2nd strongest shinobi in the village and he's usually right about estimating a shinobi's strength. The Raikage looked at the sketch again and scrunched it up into a ball in disgust.

--

_Fire Country_

It was nighttime when they reached the capital of the Fire Country. Fire Country had many tall buildings with many different colors with red roofs. There was a large building in the middle of the town. Kin immediately went to the largest building. Looking around the town Naruto saw many Konoha shinobis walking around. He was sure they were there to protect the town because it was the capital.

He looked at his team, "Are you guys tired?"

Seishin yawned and Naruto didn't need telling twice. They went to the nearest hotel, rented out a room and the 3 kids immediately went to sleep.

"So, Naruto do you want to go and gamble for a bit before we head back tomorrow?" Sakumo asked him.

"I don't have any money with me," Naruto told him truthfully.

Sakumo took out some bills and split it in half. He gave one of the stacks to Naruto.

"I can't take this."

"Come on, it'll be more fun if you come also." Sakumo placed the money into one of Naruto's vest pockets.

Sakumo and Naruto went to the nearest gambling place. Sakumo opened the door and many shinobis greeted him, "Hey, Sakumo. You up for a night of gambling?" A blue hair shinobi girl asked. She had light green eyes. Her hair was medium-length, only to her armpits. She was around 30 years old and in her mouth was a unlit cigarette.

"Yep, that's what we're here for," Sakumo answered. He and Naruto took a seat with 6 other shinobis.

"Who's your cute friend? Even though he has a Konoha forehead-protector, I've never seen him," the blue hair girls said.

"Oki this is Naruto. Naruto this is Oki. Naruto's going to join us tonight," Sakumo said to the rest of the group.

"The more the merrier," said a brown hair shinobi. He wore square glasses that hung at the tip of his nose.

"What are we playing today?" Sakumo asked.

"We're playing poker," the brown hair shinobi said.

"Do you know how to play Naruto?" Sakumo asked not knowing if Naruto played cards at all.

Naruto had learned a lot from Tsunade before. Even though he knew the rules, he also knew that poker took skills and that was something he didn't learn from Tsunade. When they played, he would always win, but it really didn't mean much because Tsunade wasn't the best gambler.

"Yes, I know the rules," Naruto replied.

After 3 hours of playing, there was only Naruto, Sakumo, and Oki left. The others had left after they lost all their money. Sakumo was the short stack. Finally, Sakumo was defeated by Oki.

"So, it's me and you Naruto," Oki said to him. She had the advantage, about a 3 to 1 in chip lead. It took a long time, but Naruto finally managed to break even with her. It took another hour before he finally managed to beat her.

"Well, guess that's it for tonight. I lost, but it was fun," Oki said.

Naruto and Sakumo went back to the hotel with Naruto having a wad of cash from his winnings.

Before they went into their respective rooms Naruto split the money in half and gave it to Sakumo.

"What's this for?" Sakumo asked.

"It was your money in the first place," Naruto said.

Sakumo pushed it back, "No, no, I can't take that. You won it."

"I got to repay you because you split half your cash with me."

"Well, it wasn't this much. You can just give me what I gave you."

Naruto shook his head and placed half the cash into Sakumo's vest. He had to put it in many pockets because it was there were too many bills, "No, you got to take half of the winning."

Sakumo sighed.

"Hey Sakumo."

"Yeah?"

"Who was that shinobi earlier? Do you know him? I could sense he was pretty strong."

"That was Seiji. And yes, he's pretty strong. I have crossed path with him 3 times before and the results were inconclusive." Sakumo continued, "I don't want to brag. I believe you when you said that circumstances plays a role in the fight, but I can usually beat a sannin one on one."

Naruto wanted to make sure of what Sakumo was saying, "So, Seiji has a good chance of beating one of the sannin when they're by themselves?"

"Yes, he would probably beat them if it was one on one. I'm not saying that one of the sannins can't win, but he does have the better odds."

Naruto didn't like this.

"You've got to remember, he is the 2nd strongest in their village Naruto."

"What do you think his mission was today? I doubt he was aiming for Kin," Naruto said.

"Nope, they were probably aiming for me. Taking me out would give them a huge advantage. I think that he knew you were strong and decided to pull back. Even though Konoha has less shinobis, our shinobis are a little better. That's the only thing that's keeping us from losing this war. Alright, good night then Naruto."

"Good night."

_Jutsu descriptions_:

**Kokuangyou no Jutsu: Bringer of Absolute Darkness**- (A-rank) This genjutsu causes total darkness. (in the manga)


	8. Ch 8:Lose

7/19/07

Thanks for all the reviews. I probably won't be updating until next week or something (Harry Potter :) and also got some test coming up so it will be a full week). Anyways, thanks for reviewing.

**Chapter 8:Lose**

The group got up early the next morning to get some breakfast before heading back to Konoha. Without Kin, they were able to make it back to the front gate of Konoha by mid afternoon.

"Alright guys, Sakumo and I have to give the report. You guys are free until further notice," Naruto told them.

"Yea, let's go practice. You better be ready to teach us the next step," Arashi said. The 3 nodded and left.

Sakumo and Naruto went to the Sarutobi's office.

"I'm here to give the report," Sakumo said.

"Go on," Sarutobi answered. He was still looking at some papers on his desk.

"The mission was a success, but we met Seiji along the way," Sakumo said.

Sarutobi looked up now. Now, this was some interesting news.

"What happened?" Sarutobi asked.

"Nothing, really. He just probably just wanted to get a better view of Naruto so he could inform the Raikage."

"I see," Sarutobi said. Seiji's mission probably was to kill Sakumo, but when he saw Naruto's performance he probably knew his chances were low so instead of fighting he decided to retreated.

"How many shinobis did he send to assess Naruto before he decided to show himself?"

"Nine," answered Sakumo.

Sarutobi didn't like how the other villages could just throw away a shinobi's life like that, but it did give information about Naruto. Plus, if Seiji had decided to encounter both Sakumo and Naruto he would have probably died, even with 9 shinobis.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about Naruto's information, but did you guys show anything?" Sarutobi asked.

"No, we didn't show any moves. They didn't get a lot of information on Naruto."

"That's good to hear then," Sarutobi said.

Naruto and Sakumo left the office.

Sarutobi was looking at his papers. _At least they didn't know how strong Naruto is_. Now that he thought about it, even he didn't know how strong Naruto was. He just assumed that Naruto had to be strong since he was the Rokudaime, but now that he thought about it, he really didn't know. He would bet that Naruto was strong, but there were still other possibilities. Maybe there wasn't strong shinobis in the future so Naruto just got lucky and received the title of Hokage. Naruto did tell him that it was a time of peace where he came from. Or maybe Naruto got along with the counsel and they just made him Hokage. He pondered this question for a moment before getting back to his papers.

Naruto and Sakumo were walking towards Naruto's house. Sakumo asked Naruto to join him and his wife for dinner tomorrow night so that he could introduce Naruto to his wife. Before heading off though, Naruto wanted to get his jacket first. After getting his jacket they started their way towards Sakumo's house, but they stopped by Nyoko. Both of them could immediately tell that she was not in a good mood.

Sakumo thought she was mad at him for taking Naruto away so he immediately said, "Sorry Nyoko, but I had to…"

He was cut off by her, "I'm not mad at you."

She pointed a finger at Naruto and glared at him, "I'm mad at him."

"What? Why? What did I do?" Naruto asked very confused.

"What do you mean what did you do? I heard it all from Jiraiya. You fought him again a 2nd time. It was right before our mission just after telling me that you didn't fight your allies. You just gave me a fake lie so you wouldn't have to fight me and I believed you," she had an intense glare that frightened Naruto. Somehow it reminded him of Tsunade's glare._ Was this where Tsunade got her glare?_

"It was…" Naruto tried to say but was cut off.

"Don't say it was different. You said that before also," Nyoko said loudly.

She began to put her face in the palms of her hands and started to sob, "I know, it's because I'm weak right. Just say that and I'll understand."

_Oh man_, Naruto thought. Nyoko was still sobbing.

"You're not weak Nyoko. I saw what you're capable of and you're very strong," Naruto said.

"Then, then why won't you fight me," Nyoko was still sobbing under her palms.

Naruto gently slapped his forehead. There was no other way, "Fine, okay I'll fight you."

She immediately removed her hands from her face. To Naruto's surprise there wasn't any tears.

"Okay then."

"She got you," Sakumo laughed. Sakumo would have warned Naruto, but knew that if he did Nyoko would probably kill him while he was asleep.

"Hey, let's make it a bet," Nyoko said to Naruto.

"A bet…" Naruto said.

"Yea, so we'll have something to lose," Nyoko said.

"Why?"

"So, I'll know that you're fighting. I don't want you there just evading my attacks. That would be boring. That's what you were planning to do huh," Nyoko said.

Naruto shook his head sideways and waved his hands in front of him furiously.

"Don't lie Naruto. Didn't I tell you that you were a bad liar?" Nyoko said.

"Unlike someone else," Sakumo said interrupting her.

"Be quiet Sakumo. It's a gift that I have okay," Nyoko said.

"A gift…" Sakumo replied.

"Yes, a gift. So how about it?" Nyoko asked him.

Sakumo felt that he should speak up this time even if Nyoko was to do something bad to him, "I know you're a good gambler Naruto, but don't let her trick you?"

_Was this right_? _Did Sakumo really think that she could beat him?_ Naruto thought about the situation himself. The way that he saw it, he had the advantage. He already seen her profile and when they were on the mission he saw a little bit of what she was capable of. Nyoko haven't even seen what he was truly capable of. Another thing was that he had fought 3 of the strongest Sharingan user before: Kakashi, Sasuke, and Itachi. All 3 who also had the Mangeko Sharingan, which she probably didn't have.

Sakumo saw that his warnings had an opposite effect on Naruto. Instead of seeing it as a warning, he knew that it had increase Naruto's interest instead. _This was always the weakness of strong people; they always wanted to see how strong they really were_. He knew that it was his problem also.

"Naruto, I can see it in your eyes, but don't say I didn't warn you," Sakumo told him.

"Shut-up Sakumo, it's his choice," Nyoko said.

"What will the bet be?" Naruto asked in interest.

Sakumo shook his head knowing that he had just failed in warning Naruto.

"If I win then you'll have to ask Tsunade on a date," Nyoko told him.

_Damn, not this again_. He really just started to get on Tsunade's good side and didn't want to ruin it.

He began to think to himself.

"Anything, right?" he asked her.

"Sure, anything."

"Alright, if I win then you won't ask me to do anything with Tsunade again. You won't suggest anything that includes me and her. You don't suggest that we talk or even smile at each other. Nothing, nadda, zip. Not just me also, you don't suggest it to Tsunade," Naruto told her. He was sure that she was bluffing about beating him and she would take back her deal, but he was surprised.

"That's it. It's not like I'll lose anyways," Nyoko said.

"You sure about that?" Naruto asked her.

"Positive."

Sakumo sighed, "Well Naruto, guess you'll be going on a date. I did warn you though."

Naruto looked to his left where Sakumo was standing, "Do you want to make a wager on this also?"

Sakumo smiled. He never thought Naruto would ask. Sakumo had also analyzed the chance of Naruto winning. Even if Naruto were 10 times stronger than him, he would still lose.

"Sure, why not. I'll make a little wager on this also. If Nyoko wins…"

Nyoko interrupted him, "If I win, I get to pick out what you're wearing for the date."

Sakumo looked at her very confused, "No, that's not what I want."

"Remember before your mission? You said you would make it up to me and this is how you would make it up," she told him.

_I did say I would make it up to her_, Sakumo thought. "Fine, if Nyoko wins she can pick out what you're going to wear on your date."

Naruto was still thinking about what he wanted from Sakumo.

"Don't think too long, it's not like you're going to win," Sakumo laughed and patted him on the back.

"Alright, if I win then you can't ask me for a match. Ever," Naruto stated to Sakumo. He could sense that Sakumo wanted to fight with him after seeing his performance against the 9 shinobis.

Sakumo was thinking it through, he really did want to fight Naruto. Naruto had beaten 5 shinobis while he only took out 4. He wanted to assess how strong Naruto was also.

Nyoko spoke up, "Don't worry about it Sakumo, I'll beat him and you'll get your shot."

Sakumo nodded, "Alright, sure, if you win I won't ask you for a match."

This took Naruto by surprise. _Is Nyoko this strong?_

"Is that all then?" Nyoko asked Naruto.

"Sure, where are we fighting then?" Naruto asked her.

"You can pick. I don't want you to think that I had the advantage when I win."

Naruto looked into her eyes. He could see that she didn't have any doubt about losing. "Alright, let's go to training ground 6."

Naruto was about to leave when he saw Sakumo leaving in a different direction.

"Are you going to watch the match?" Naruto asked him as he was about to leave.

"No thanks. I'll find out the results later and I've got to get back home right now. Plus, I don't want to see your moves. I rather see it first hand," and he left.

"So, just me and you then," Nyoko said to Naruto.

Nyoko followed Naruto to training ground 6. They were both in the open field. Both of them got into their fighting stances.

"Whenever you're ready," Naruto said to her.

Nyoko activated her Sharingan and appeared behind Naruto. She tried to punch the side of his stomach, but he jumped up and out of the way before it connected. _Just as I thought. She's fast, but nowhere near Sasuke or Itachi._ He decided that he would match her speed and keep increasing it little by little just to see how fast she really was. As he increased his speed over time Naruto could see that she was having a harder time dodging his attacks even though none of them had landed yet. After about 5 minutes of nothing but using taijutsu Nyoko suddenly stopped.

"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked.

"I see what you're doing. How about we skip this warm-up and fight for real?" Nyoko said in a cheery voice.

Naruto raised one of his eyebrows, "Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Okay, get ready then," Naruto said smiling at her.

She nodded again and got into her fighting stance.

Nyoko was looking at Naruto when suddenly he disappeared from her sight. She had a second to make a gasp. This was the first time that anyone had disappeared from her sight when she had the Sharingan activated. At the corner of her eyes she saw Naruto's right hand coming for the left side of her face. Nyoko managed to duck under it, but was greeted with a knee to her face. This knocked her down, but she immediately got up and jumped about 20 feet away from Naruto.

A small drip of blood came down the side of her mouth and she licked it with her tongue, "You're pretty fast."

She was really enjoying this. From what she heard from Jiraiya Naruto didn't go all out on him. Nyoko also knew that Naruto was still holding a lot back, but she was satisfied that he actually intended on winning.

As Naruto came closer she quickly did a few hand seals and said, "Koori Yuka (Ice Floor)." The ground immediately turned into ice. Because of moving at such a high speed Naruto lost his balance. He looked directly forward and could see that Nyoko had was ready to stab his face with a kunai. At the last second Naruto managed to twist his body to avoid the attack. As Naruto twisted his body to avoid the attack he also manage to take of his jacket. Holding on to the sleeve of his jacket he managed to fling the jacket around her forearms. The jacket wrapped around her wrist and Naruto was able to twist her hand behind her. Naruto was standing directly behind her in control of her right hand. He pulled the jacket higher, which caused her a lot of pain on her right shoulder.

"You give up?" Naruto asked.

"No way," she immediately replied.

Naruto pulled up a little harder. Nyoko made a small noise when he did this.

"Look Nyoko, just give up. I don't want to dislocate your shoulders."

Nyoko didn't answer, but instead swung her right leg upwards. Her hamstrings connected Naruto's precious spot and caused him to lose his grip on the jacket. As he fell to the floor she did a few hand seals, "Mizu Bakufuu (Water Blast)." Nyoko knew it was a really weak jutsu, but her shoulder was in pain and it hurt every time she performed a seal. The jutsu wasn't meant to damage him anyways, it was just to stall him. A small amount of water about the size of a basketball formed in front of her and she sent it towards Naruto.

Because of the water's contact with the ice, Naruto's knees were stuck to the ice. He managed to do a few quick hand seals while his knees were still stuck to the ice, "Housenka no Jutsu - Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique." About 10 fireballs were sent at Nyoko, but she managed to dodge them all and ran into the woods.

She moved through the woods as fast as she could while still holding her right shoulder. _He probably could have broken it if he wanted too._

Naruto finally freed himself from the ground and was cautiously walking through the woods now.

Nyoko was standing behind a tree and waiting for Naruto. She had just set up a trap. _I know you're strong, but let's see how you do against traps._ It was about 5 minutes before she saw Naruto walking causally towards her trap. Then all of the sudden "BOOM," her trap went off.

She gasped in horror. _What had she done_? She really didn't think Naruto would fall for such an easy trap.

"You know, if I didn't know any better I would say that you were actually worried," a voice came from behind her.

She didn't look behind her, but instead looked at the trap. Nyoko saw a poof of smoke and her eyes widen. _A clone_.

Nyoko stepped on a branch right behind her and suddenly a net from under Naruto snatch him up.

"You talk too much you know that," she yelled up at him. Then all of the sudden another, 'pop.' _Another clone._

Naruto's upper body appeared directly out of the tree that she was leaning on.

_He was the one that trapped me._

Naruto did a few quick hand seals before she could react, "Kumo Netto (Spider Net)." A large white net appeared in front of him and wrapped around Nyoko. She struggled as she hit the floor. He came out of the tree and looked down at her.

"You can't break this net in time to do anything, Nyoko. It's harder than steel. So, can we conclude that you have lost?"

She looked up at him and smiled. Her eyes started to spin and suddenly Naruto couldn't see anything, only blackness. He blinked a few times before he got his vision back. As Naruto regained his vision, he could see that he wasn't at the woods anymore. There was nothing except white walls and a door, sort of like a hospital room. Naruto also noticed that he wasn't standing anymore and was instead lying on his back on a bed. He tried to move his arms and legs, but couldn't because they were tied to each end of the bedpost. Naruto also noticed that he didn't have his shirt on.

He heard a creek and look towards the door. Nyoko came inside, but she wasn't wearing her ANBU uniform. Instead she was wearing a white robe, an extremely short white robe.

She slowly walked towards the bed and sat on it. To her surprise Naruto had on a very familiar necklace. If she didn't know any better she would have said it was the same one as Tsunade's. Nyoko put this thought out of her mind. As Nyoko sat down on the bed one side of the robe slightly fell off showing the tattoo on her shoulders.

"Uh, can you help me get out of this Nyoko?" he asked her.

She smiled at him, "Now why would I want to do that?"

Nyoko slowly laid down next to him and was facing the side of his face.

"You know how I always try to hook you up with Tsunade?"

Naruto didn't answer.

"Well, I was just thinking. Maybe you don't want to get together with her. Maybe you want to get with me," she said softly and seducing tone.

As she was saying that she slowly moved her index finger up and down his body.

"Stop joking Nyoko and help me get out of this."

"I really don't think you want to get out."

"What are you going to do to me?"

Nyoko slowly moved her face towards his ears and whispered, "What does it look like I'm going to do? I'm going to fuck your brains out."

When Naruto heard this he pull as hard as he could with his right arm, but it didn't do anything.

She continued to whisper to him, "Don't fight it, I know you've fantasized about this before. You know, being helpless and being force to have sex without your will by a girl."

Nyoko licked his cheek softly with the tip of her tongue.

Naruto couldn't lie to himself, he had fantasized it before, but that was only fantasizing. Now that it was about to happen, he was both excited and scared at the same time.

"Stop playing Nyoko."

"Who says I'm playing?" she whispered.

She got on top of his chest in a straddle position and bent over so she could talk to him.

"What's wrong Naruto? Am I not good enough for you?" she whispered. She slowly took off her robe revealing her body. "How about now?" she whispered again.

Naruto had no answer. He was too memorized by her features. Naruto couldn't take his eyes off her round breast and small waist body. He couldn't lie to himself, she was very attractive.

She kissed the side of his neck very hard and roughly slid his pants off with her legs. She looked back and could see that Naruto was semi-hard.

Nyoko giggled, "Are you trying to fight it Naruto? Looks like I'll have to work you."

She slid the inside of her legs lower and lower till she reached his stomach. Naruto noticed that she rubbed against him the whole way. He couldn't help it now, he was completely turned on.

She gave another look back, "I see you're enjoying this." Nyoko continued down until she was right above his rock hard shaft. She put her hands on his chest. Nyoko kept moving her opening around the tip of his shaft, slightly rubbing it, but not putting it in. _She's teasing the hell out of me_, Naruto thought. Naruto could sense that she was about to put it in and he closed his eyes ready for it, but instead she stopped.

"You know, it seems like I'm forcing you, but this is just a scene. You have complete control. So do you want me to put it in or do you want me to stop?" she whispered to his ears.

She waited for an answer, but no words came from Naruto.

"I'll ask you one more time Naruto. Do you want me to put it in or do you want me to stop?" she whispered seductively.

"I want you to put it in," Naruto said softly. Nyoko rubbed his chest again and whispered, "Just as I thought. Under all that righteousness you're just man after all."

She slowly moved her body down again and he was ready for it.

Suddenly it was pitch black again. He blinked a few times and saw the forest. Naruto felt a sword to his neck.

"You lose Naruto," Nyoko said happily.

"What? What happened?" Naruto was dazed and confused.

"What happened was you lost. I could have killed you at least 15 times already."

He remembered where he was now. He was fighting with Nyoko when all of the sudden he was brought into a room. It suddenly clicked.

"That was an illusion?" _With a jutsu like this she can kill half of the adult shinobis one on one, well maybe not Orochimaru._

Nyoko laughed, "Yep. How did you like it?"

_So, this was why Sakumo warned me_. _This jutsu makes my "Oiroke no jutsu (Sexy no jutsu)" look like child's play_. _I couldn't have stop this no matter how strong I am_.

She looked down at his pants when he didn't answer and saw a part of his pants sticking out. Nyoko laughed again, "I guess you liked it. So do I win?"

Naruto sighed, "That was sort of…"

Nyoko cut him off, "That was not cheating. You lost fair and square. You didn't even try to break out."

"Yeah, I was too busy," Naruto said.

"Well, that's the point of a genjutsu isn't it? It's even easier if you're opponent doesn't remember to even try and break out of it. You still lost though."

"Okay, okay, you win."

Nyoko removed her sword from his throat and handed him his jacket.

He knew that she wasn't being generous. She was proving a point, "Nyoko I believed you when you said you could have killed me at least 15 times alright. You don't have to prove it to me."

Nyoko smiled, "I know. But it's better if I do, just so you won't have any doubts that I could have killed you if I wanted to."

Nyoko tapped her chin in a thinking manner, "Anyways about our bet."

"Come on Nyoko," Naruto pleaded. "Let me out of this one. I'll do anything you want. I'll be your slave for a month. I'll give you my salary for a year. How about that?"

He really didn't like the thought of asking Tsunade out on a date. For one, he was getting closer to the young Tsunade and asking her on a date could ruin this. Second, the thought of going on a date with Tsunade really scared him. He only agreed to the bet because he thought that he had no chance of losing. How wrong he was.

"Na uh Naruto. A bet's a bet. If you didn't want to do it in the first place you shouldn't have bet," Nyoko told him.

"Not like you gave me a choice," Naruto said.

"You had a choice. You could have just ignored me," Naruto replied.

"Yes, just ignore a woman who's crying in the middle of the street," Naruto said.

"Yep. You could have done just that. Plus, you could have back out of the bet after that. Anyways, you will ask Tsunade later on today," Nyoko commanded.

"Today? That's so early," Naruto tried to reason with her.

"It has to be today. We don't know when missions will come in. Oh yeah, this is obvious, but you can't tell her about this bet. You will ask her today and we'll go shopping for your suit tomorrow," her eyes gleamed when she said this.

Knowing his defeat he finally accepted. But he saw a problem with this, "What will happen if she says 'no.' I don't want to be shopping for something if I'm not going anywhere."

Nyoko laughed, "She'll say 'yes.' Come on now."

"And you know this because?"

"I know this because I'm her best friend. She'll say yes and we'll go shopping tomorrow."

"And if she says 'no?'" Naruto asked again.

Nyoko closed her eyes and shook her head, "Fine, fine. If she says 'no,' you're off the hook and we don't have to go shopping. You also don't owe me anything. Feel better now."

Naruto smiled.

"Not like that'll happen. You don't want to go on a date with Tsunade or what? She's real pretty and she's a nice person once you get to know her. I'm doing 'you' a favor, don't you see?"

"I know she's a nice person. It's just that it's weird for me," Naruto said.

"Weird? How is it weird? It's not like she's your mother or something," Nyoko said.

_Exactly, I consider her as my mother,_ Naruto thought to himself.

**Koori Yuka: Ice Floor**- (C-rank) A ninjutsu that transform the floor into ice.

**Mizu Bakufuu: Water Blast**- (C-rank) A ninjutsu that blasts the opponent with a small amount of water. The blast is comparable to a water balloon that is thrown at 70 mph.

**Housenka no Jutsu: Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique- **(C-rank) A ninjutsu that shoots many fireballs at the opponent. This jutsu is in the manga.

**Kumo Netto: Spider Net**- (B-rank) A ninjutsu that forms a net made out of spider web. They say that spider web is harder than steel.

**Sharangin- **(A-rank) Nyoko's personal genjutsu. Puts the opponent in her 'specialized' room. Rumors said that this move is so powerful she can kill half of the adults shinobis with this move one on one, including the mighty 3rd Hokage... well, especially him.


	9. Ch 9:Date

8/28/07

**Chapter 9:Date**

After coming back from the mission Arashi, Kioko and Seishin went to train. It was finally sunset when they decided that it was enough. Arashi took off to the orphanage by himself while Kioko and Seishin were traveling home together.

"Hey Seishin," Kioko said.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sure that you probably notice, but don't you think Naruto-sensei and Arashi look the same?"

Seishin eyed her curiously, "A lot of people have yellow hair you know."

"Come on. It's not only that. You looked at the photo right? Even their smiles are the same."

"So, what's your point?"

Kioko gave a deep sighed and rolled her eyes, "My point is that maybe Naruto-sensei is Arashi's dad."

Seishin laughed, "You don't really believe that do you? I mean they look alike, but that's pretty far-fetched."

Kioko smacked his shoulders, "I'm serious."

"Okay, okay," there was a slight pause before he continued. "You really believe that Naruto-sensei is Arashi's dad? If so, I'm pretty sure he would have told Arashi already."

Kioko shrugged, "Maybe he has his reasons. Arashi doesn't really know who his dad is. Also, we never knew anything about sensei until we met him? He could have returned from a long mission and thought that it was too late to tell Arashi. You know, sensei might think to it could be too much of a shock for Arashi."

"I can't see Naruto-sensei keeping a big secret like that. It's just not him, you know," Seishin said.

Kioko sighed, "Fine, but you do agree they look similar right?"

Seishin couldn't deny this, "Well, yeah."

"Do you think Arashi noticed this also?"

"Maybe. What do you suggest that we do then?"

"I don't know. We should talk with Arashi and discuss this a bit more."

Seishin nodded in agreement.

--

It was already dark and Naruto was a few blocks away from Tsunade's house. He's been leaning against a red house for 3 hours trying to find the courage for what he must do. _Stupid me. Should have never taken the bet_. He kicked the ground and a puff of dirt came up. _Might as well get this over with. That's what I get for being stupid_.

He went to Tsunade's doorsteps and knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked on it again. No answer._ I guess I have to tell Nyoko that she wasn't home_. Just as he turned around he heard the door open. Tsunade was in a bathrobe with a towel on her head. Apparently she had just finished showering.

She was blushing as she said, "Hi Naruto. What brings you here?"

Tsunade had thought that the person knocking on the door was Nyoko because she was the only person who would visit her this late.

"Sorry, but it looks like I caught you on a bad time," Naruto said.

"Oh, it's alright. Come in. I'll get change and you can ask me what you want," Tsunade said.

Naruto stepped into the house and Tsunade went to her room. He looked around and to his surprise she didn't have anything much. She only had a plain couch, table, refrigerator, a television, and a bookstand, which had some scrolls and various books.

About 10 minutes later Tsunade came out. She was wearing a baggy pajama that had white slugs for designs.

She took a seat next to him, "So what's up?"

"Well, I was wondering…" he tapped his two forefingers together exactly like a shinobi that he knew when she was embarrassed, "if you're not doing anything tomorrow would you like to go out and get something to eat?" He felt himself blushing and tried hard to stop it, but couldn't.

Tsunade eyed him curiously. It was a moment before she said anything, "You mean, like a date?"

"If you want to call it that, sure like a date," Naruto answered in a hesitate voice and giving a weak laugh.

Tsunade thought it over for a minute. She really haven't been on a date in ages and plus Naruto really was a nice person. And unlike her previous assumption he really wasn't a pervert. She noticed it during their mission together. But, the thing that held her back was her feelings for Dan. She felt like she was cheating on him if she went on this date. She weighed the choices carefully and finally decided that she would go on the date, but not try to make anything out of it.

"Sure, do you have a specific time?" Tsunade asked.

"How about 8 o'clock tomorrow night?"

"That's fine. Just come by tomorrow night then," Tsunade replied.

Naruto stood up, "Guess I'll get going now, see you."

Naruto was lying on his bed thinking to himself. Her answer had completely shocked him. He was sure that she would have refused because of her feelings for Dan, but it wasn't the case. Nyoko was right. _Dammit she's always right._ He thought about the bright side. At least I would get to know her better.

--

It was about 10 o'clock the next morning when Naruto heard a knock on his door.

"So Naruto, are you ready?" Nyoko asked him as he opened the door.

"Ready for what?" Naruto asked.

"Don't play dumb. We're going shopping."

Naruto frowned, "It's only 10 o'clock."

"What do you mean it's only 10? We don't have much time, you know."

"Fine, fine," and Naruto went outside.

"So, Tsunade told you already?" Naruto asked her.

"No, I just know. I told you she would say yes."

"How did you know?" Naruto asked curiously.

Nyoko shook her head slowly from side to side with her eyes closed showing that she didn't really want to answer his question.

"Come on, you tell me. Who knows it might even help me later," Naruto said.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yeah."

"It's so simple. Tsunade would give any guy a chance if that guy never looked down at her chest. During our last mission together I noticed that you never looked down when speaking to her. The last person to not look at her chest was her…" Nyoko stopped herself.

"That's it?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"Yep, that's it. And it's amazing how she's never been on a date for the longest. Most guys that meet her immediately look down. Guys…" she shook her head as she said this, "they're all after one thing."

Naruto decided to change the subject, "Anyways, how's your shoulder doing? Sorry if I injured you yesterday."

Nyoko rotated her right shoulder in a circular motion, "I'm fine. Let's go we're wasting time."

Just then a door opened a few houses away and Arashi came out. He was about to go to Naruto's house when he saw Nyoko and Naruto standing outside.

Nyoko went up to him, "Hey Arashi, what are you doing?"

"I was going to Naruto-sensei's house. Are you here to visit Naruto-sensei?" he asked.

"Nope, we were just going somewhere," Nyoko answered.

Arashi looked disappointed.

"Hey, if you're not doing anything you can come along. It might be boring, but it's something to do. Who knows I might need you to help me," Nyoko said.

"It's okay Nyoko. It looks like you guys are on a date. I would just be in the way," Arashi said in a sad tone.

Nyoko laughed, "No, we're not on a date. But, speaking of dates, Naruto is going to one today." She winked at Arashi.

"Really? With who?"

"He's going with Tsunade," Nyoko said excitedly.

"Is this true Naruto-sensei?"

Naruto laughed uncomfortably and placed his hands behind his head, "Yeah, I guess it's true."

"Does that mean you and Tsunade?" Arashi asked happily.

"No, we're just friends. We're just going out to eat," Naruto answered. This disappointed Arashi a little.

Nyoko started to talk with Arashi in a voice that people use to talk with kids, "Wouldn't it be nice if Naruto and Tsunade got together?"

Arashi nodded his head furiously in agreement.

Nyoko glanced at Naruto, "See, even Arashi agrees with me. Why can't you see that you guys should be together?"

"Well Arashi, that's where Naruto and I are going. We're going to shop for his clothes tonight. Do you want to join us?"

"Okay," Arashi answered happily.

They walked into their first store and Naruto grabbed a blue suit. "How about this? Let's get this go home."

Nyoko looked at the suit with disgust, "No way. You're not going in that."

"I agree with Nyoko. That suit doesn't look good," Arashi added.

They went to 10 different stores before Nyoko finally decided on what Naruto should wear. It was a black suit with white vertical stripes coming down. They also bought a black dress shoe for Naruto.

"Finally. That took forever," sighed Naruto.

"This date has to be perfect. Now let's go to the barber to get your haircut," Nyoko said.

"No way, I'm not cutting my hair," Naruto replied.

"Come on Naruto. It's all over the place. What do think, Arashi?"

"No, I like Naruto-sensei's hair. I say we leave it."

This disappointed Nyoko. Most of the time during the shopping Arashi was on her side.

"Alright fine. You guys win. Let's go home then," she said a little disappointed.

When they reached the house Nyoko looked up at the clock, "What time did you say you were going to pick her up?"

"8, why?".

"Well, get dress, it's already 7:30."

Naruto looked at the time and was surprised that it was already 7:30. He quickly went to his room and changed. It only took him about 15 minutes to get ready.

"Looking sharp," Nyoko said as he got out of his bedroom.

"Thanks."

"Now go get her champ," she laughed.

Naruto just rolled his eyes, "Whatever. So what are you going to do?"

"What does it look like? I'm going to wait here until you come back and you're going to give me the report. Hey Arashi want to stay here with me? I can teach you a few things if you want."

Arashi nodded his head.

"Hurry up Naruto, you're going to be late and Tsunade doesn't like that," Nyoko said as Naruto ran out the door.

"Hey Nyoko," Arashi said.

"What is it?"

"You know Naruto-sensei a lot right?"

"No, not really. I would say I'm one of the first people that he's talked too."

"So, no one really knows him then?"

"I don't think anyone knows him. Why?"

"Oh nothing. I was just wondering," he looked a little sad.

"What is it? You can tell me."

Arashi sighed, "This is going to sound really stupid, but I just thought you knew him and I wanted to ask you if…"

She pressed Arashi to continue, "if what…"

"If he was my father or something," Arashi said quickly.

Nyoko looked at him for a minute.

"Yeah, I know it sounds stupid doesn't it?" Arashi looked at the floor embarrassed for asking this question.

"No, not really. I can see your point. You 2 do look very similar. And even though it's rare for people to come back years after a mission it has happened before."

"So you don't know then?"

"Nope. You have to ask Naruto."

"But, I don't want to ask sensei something like that. What if he laughs?"

Nyoko looked at him, "Does Naruto seem like a person that would laugh at something like that?"

Arashi thought for a moment, "No, not really."

"You're never going to know if you don't ask. What's the worst that can happen? He'll say 'no' and that's it."

"Okay, I guess I will," Arashi said.

"That's good to hear. Now what do you say we spar a little?"

"In Naruto-sensei's house?"

"Yeah. Where else?"

"I don't know."

"Come on, we won't wreck the house."

--

Naruto finally reached Tsunade's house and rang the doorbell. After hearing a few footsteps she finally opened the door.

Tsunade was wearing a short strapless black dress that went to her knees. The back of the dress had a v-cut that came down just above her waist, which showed her lower back. On her feet were black high heels with a single strap. Her hair was also tied in a bun with 2 chopsticks sticking through it that formed a 'X.' Having her hair like this showed her neck and made her seem a lot skinnier than usual. She still had the two 2 long bangs that were split in the middle. Looking at her, Naruto finally knew why she was considered the most beautiful shinobi in Konoha.

"You look nice."

"Thank you. So do you. Shall we get going then?" Naruto wondered if he did something wrong because her voice sort of harsh.

"Yeah."

They were walking down the road together in silence for 5 minutes.

Tsunade finally decided to break the silence, "So where are we going?"

"Delmonico's," Naruto answered.

It was another 5 minutes before they reached the restaurant. The restaurant was slightly dark with small candles on the walls that illuminated the place. There were small tables neatly placed in the middle and sides while larger tables were placed near the corners.

"How many?" asked the host.

"2," Naruto replied.

The waiter came back with their menus.

"So… I barely know you Naruto? Care to tell me about yourself."

"Let's see…" He really couldn't tell her anything without giving away his real identity. "Uh, nothing comes to mind right now. What do you want to know?"

"Where have you been all these years? Sensei definitely trusts you. I want to know why he does. It's obvious you didn't know him before."

"And you know this because?"

"I know because we're around the same age and I would have known you also if you were in this village. So tell me Naruto, what did you do to gain his trust?"

Naruto looked down at the table not meeting her eyes, "I'm sorry Tsunade, but I can't tell you."

Tsunade wasn't surprise at Naruto's answer. She flipped the page harshly indicating her mood, "Typical."

"I really want to tell you, but I can't."

"Sure you do," she said monotonously.

"Okay then, why you asked me on a date?" she asked.

"Because I wanted to."

She flipped another page on her menu, "Don't lie."

"I really did," Naruto answered sincerely.

"I said don't lie to me. You're a bad liar and I know Nyoko set you up somehow," she said abruptly.

Tsunade knew this because Nyoko came by her house earlier in the morning asking her to fix her shoulders. She told Tsunade that she had twisted it by practicing. This lie from Nyoko didn't fool Tsunade and she easily put the pieces together. If she knew this before Naruto had asked her on the date, she wouldn't have agreed.

Feeling cornered by Tsunade and knowing that she figured it out, he knew it was useless to lie, "Okay, Nyoko made me ask you."

Tsunade immediately stood up from her chair and was ready to leave when she felt Naruto grabbed her wrist.

"Let go, it's obvious you don't want to be here," Tsunade said angrily. People in the restaurant started to stare at them.

"Please Tsunade sit down. I really did want to come," Naruto pleaded.

She gave him a piercing look, "Sure, you were forced to come."

"Please don't leave," Naruto said.

Tsunade glared into his eyes for a moment and hatred was all that could be seen on her face. Finally after 10 seconds, which seemed to be an eternity for Naruto, Tsunade sat down. He finally let go of her wrist.

"Then why didn't you ask without her forcing you?"

Giving her voice, Naruto knew that she was still angry, "I was just scared that's all. I don't feel comfortable asking girls for a date."

"Yeah, sure. A person like you having problems asking girls on dates," she said sarcastically.

"I'm telling you the truth Tsunade. I don't have a reason to lie."

"So you said you wanted to come. Why?" Tsunade said suspiciously.

"I want to get to know you better."

Tsunade gave a fake laugh, "So you're telling me you want to get to know me better, but at the same time you're not going to tell me anything. It doesn't work like that."

Naruto shook his head slightly, "I'm sorry… I really do want to tell you but…"

He could sense that this 'date' wasn't going well. This was the exact reason why he didn't want to go on a date with her.

"Okay, what can you tell me then?" Tsunade asked him.

"Nothing about my past. Other than that, I'll try answering the best I can."

"Fine. What did Nyoko do to force you to ask me?"

Naruto could still tell that she was still irritated by him, "We had a spar."

"Oh, so that was the bet. I was sure it was something like that. Okay, then how did you lose? I heard from Jiraiya that you've beaten him again and Nyoko isn't as strong as Jiraiya. I find it hard to believe that you would lose, so tell me Naruto how did you lose?" Tsunade already knew how he lost, but she wanted to hear it straight from Naruto.

Naruto turned bright red and scratched the back of his neck, "Well, she beat me. That's all."

"Can you be a little more specific?"

"Okay… I was caught in a genjutsu."

"What kind of genjutsu?"

Naruto dodged the question, "I don't think Nyoko would want me exposing her moves."

Tsunade smiled in a sadistic way, "Me and Nyoko spar a lot. I don't think she would mind. So, what was the genjutsu?"

"You can ask Nyoko. If she wants to tell you then it's alright with me. I think it's better that way."

Tsunade laughed, "I know what happened. Since it was a bet, what would have happened if you won?"

Her questions were making Naruto feel real uncomfortable, but he did say that he would answer her questions, "Well, if I would have won then Nyoko wouldn't be trying to get us together."

To Naruto's surprise Tsunade gave a smirk, "Okay, that's fair enough. At least you can tell she's trying to do that also."

Suddenly a loud group of people came through the door. It was Jiraiya with about 10 different girls. There was not doubt that Jiraiya had been drinking. He glanced up to where Naruto and Tsunade were sitting. Jiraiya's eyes widen as he realized who he was seeing. He gave Naruto a huge grin and a thumb's up.

"What Jiraiya does really disgusts me," Tsunade said.

"What?"

"Don't act stupid Naruto. You know what I mean, him being with all those girls."

"Come on Tsunade, Jiraiya's just having fun."

"So that's your idea of fun?" Tsunade responded.

Naruto waved both of his hands in front of him, "Not for me of course. I'm just saying it's his way of having fun."

"I guess."

"Well, he's a nice person."

"Sure," Tsunade said sarcastically.

"Deep down you know it's true."

"How do you know he's a nice person? He hated you the first time he saw you."

"All because he didn't like me in the beginning doesn't make him a bad person. I just know he is."

"If you say so," she said disbelieving.

This brief interruption by Jiraiya seemed to have made Tsunade forget about being angry at him and he didn't waste time to capitalize on it.

"So why did you decide to come? You could have just said you didn't feel like coming anymore when I came to your door this afternoon."

Tsunade thought for a bit, "It was just something to do that's all."

Finally the waiter came back for their orders.

"I'll have number 19," Tsunade said.

"23 for me," Naruto answered.

"Anything to drink?" The waiter asked.

"Sure, I'll take some sake," Tsunade said.

"Same here."

The waiter left after they order.

"If you say you haven't been on a lot of dates you must be extremely picky," Tsunade commented.

"Well I'm not very picky."

"You're shy then?"

Naruto thought of his childhood and laughed a little, "No not really."

"Then what?"

He thought about his childhood again, "It was just hard growing up. That's all."

Before he knew what he was doing he asked, "What about you?"

Tsunade closed her eyes for a moment and tilt her head backwards.

"Sorry if I asked the wrong question," he immediately said. _Stupid idiot. Of course she hasn't been on a date because of Dan. Smart move there Naruto, really smart_, Naruto thought to himself.

"No, it's fine. I have to get over it someday," still having the back of her head on the chair still looking up at the ceiling.

It was a while before she started talking. She was talking more to herself than to Naruto, "It was 3 years ago. The person that I loved died during a mission. His name was Dan. I was on that mission and I couldn't save him. Sometimes I wonder if I did all that I could. I always think to myself that only if I was a little bit stronger, maybe just maybe he wouldn't have died. I try to let go of my feelings, but somehow I just can't. That's why I've never been on a date since then. I feel like it's wrong for me to go on a date with someone if I still love him."

Tsunade didn't know why she told Naruto about her past. She knew that the whole village already knew, but it still wasn't comfortable talking about it. Somehow it didn't feel awkward telling him about her past.

Naruto thought about her future and knew that she would be single her whole life and he didn't want that to happen. Maybe if he said something right now he could change it, "You know, you don't have to let him go."

Tsunade eyed him suspiciously, "What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is that it's alright to still love him and try to get to know other people."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "But, what if I start liking that person? Wouldn't it be wrong loving one person and liking another? Is it even possible to do that?"

Naruto quickly answered. "Yes I think it's possible. Also I think it would be wrong if you tried to let go of the love you have for Dan if you still love him. I also think that if the person also likes you then he should learn to accept that. They should know that something like that takes time."

She was thinking about what Naruto had said and she couldn't believe it.

"So you're saying it's okay to love 2 people?"

"Sure why not," he answered easily.

Tsunade looked at Naruto to see if he was hitting on her. From what she could see Naruto wasn't.

"Thanks for your advice," she said.

"Sure, no problem."

The waiter came back with their food and sake. The rest of their conversation wasn't as interesting; they made small talk about their hobbies, dreams, and what kinds of things they liked and disliked. They were both surprise how easy it was to talk to one another.

They stayed at the restaurant for about another hour. Finally, Naruto paid for the half the bill. He knew it was pointless to try and pay for the full tag with Tsunade as his date. They were walking together to Tsunade's house.

"Thanks for your advice earlier. It lifted a ton of weight off my shoulders," Tsunade said.

"No need to thank me."

"You know I still haven't given up on knowing your past," and by the tone of her voice Naruto could tell that she was smirking.

Naruto laughed, "Sorry, but that's something that I can't tell you."

The continued walking and they finally reached Tsunade's front lawn.

"Well, I'll see you later then I guess."

"Alright, see you."

Naruto gave a huge sigh of relief as she went in the house. It wasn't a disaster like he thought it would be. Nor did anything happen, which was also a good thing. She was still the same Tsunade that he knew; strong, vocal, a person who spoke her mind, and even a little harsh. All the things he liked about Tsunade. He was glad that she was the still the same Tsunade that he knew, but there was also something that was different… something that was off from the Tsunade he knew. _How was she different?_ The thought stayed on his head the whole time as he was walking home. He knew something about her was different, but somehow he couldn't put his finger on it. Then it finally clicked, this Tsunade didn't treat him like her son. He remembered how it was like before he traveled back in time, 'Be careful. Don't get hurt. Don't push yourself too hard.' Even after becoming Hokage and becoming stronger than her, Tsunade would still treat him like her son. This young Tsunade saw him as a peer instead.

He finally got home and opened the door. To his surprise Nyoko and Arashi were in fighting position.

Nyoko turned to Naruto, "So how did it go?"

Naruto eyed her, "What were you guys doing?"

Arashi answered, "We were sparring Naruto-sensei. Nyoko's really strong. I can't even land a punch on her. We didn't mess anything up."

He saw that Arashi was going to have some bruises later on.

"We didn't mess up your place. So how did it go?" Nyoko asked.

Naruto went to sit on the couch and was joined by Nyoko and Arashi.

"She knew you know," Naruto said not looking at Nyoko.

Nyoko put a finger to her chin, "Guess I couldn't pull a quick one on her after all. But, you were there for a long time so I guess she forgave you."

Naruto gave a slight laugh, "Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, how did it go?" Nyoko asked again.

"Nothing much happened."

"Nothing…" and from her voice Naruto could tell she was disappointed.

"Nope, nothing."

"Well you better hurry it up."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. She's not going to be on the shelf for long. Lots of guys want her. Though, I must admit she is very picky."

She paused for a moment, "But, you seem like the perfect guy for her."

"Sorry Nyoko, but I don't see Tsunade in that way," Naruto answered. He could see that both Nyoko and Arashi were disappointed.

"Why not?"

"I have my reasons."

"It seems like you want to know her better. If you don't like her then why do you want to get to know her better," Nyoko said.

"All because I want to get to know a person better doesn't mean I want to get together with them."

Nyoko sighed. It really seemed like Naruto just wanted to get to know Tsunade and not get together with her, "I'm still not giving up Naruto. Don't you see you're both just right for each other."

"No, I don't see that," Naruto replied sarcastically.

"I've known her my whole life and I just know you guys are right for each other."

"And you've known me your whole life?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"Well of course not. But, I have a general feeling of how you are."

She stood up, "Well, it's time for me to go. At least nothing bad happened tonight."

"You," and she pointed at Naruto with her index finger just as she was at the door, "just think over what I just said about you and Tsunade."

And with that she left Naruto's house.

Arashi was still sitting down by him and after a minute he spoke up, "I agree with Nyoko."

Naruto laughed and looked at him, "Is that so?"

"Yes. Tsunade is nice and so are you."

"All because we're both nice doesn't mean anything."

"But I just know it."

Naruto looked at him suspiciously, "Did you pick that up from Nyoko?"

"No. Tsunade's a nice person," Arashi said again.

"Yes, she is but, I think we shouldn't talk about something that's not going to happen," Naruto told him.

Arashi obliged to this and it was a while before he spoke up again, "Naruto-sensei."

"Yes?"

He spoke up, but this time it was a little lower, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"This might sound stupid so don't laugh, but I was… just… wondering…"

Naruto could sense that Arashi really didn't want to ask this question so he said, "I won't say anything that would offend you Arashi. You can ask me whatever you want and I'll answer it."

Arashi took a deep gulp and said in a very low voice, "Well… I was just wondering if somehow you were related to me? I know that sometimes parents go on missions and they don't come back for a long time. So I was just wondering if you ever had a child while you were away."

Naruto grabbed Arashi and put him on his lap, "I'm sorry Arashi, but I'm not your father."

Naruto saw that this information crushed Arashi.

"Sorry for asking such a dumb question," he said while looking down at the floor.

"It wasn't dumb. There's no such thing as a dumb question. I can see why you asked. We do look alike," Naruto smiled at him.

"But, I consider you, Seishin, and Kioko as my family," he added.

"Really?" Arashi asked him.

"Of course I do," Naruto replied.

"Then can I sleep here tonight?" Arashi asked. He always slept in his own room by himself and always wondered what it felt like to sleep in the same room as someone else.

"Sure. In fact you can sleep here whenever you want. I need the company anyways."

"I'll go get my stuff," Arashi said happily.

With that Arashi went to his house and grabbed his sleeping bag. In a minute he had already returned to Naruto's house.

"Just set it up wherever you want," Naruto told him.

Arashi went to Naruto's room and set his sleeping bag by Naruto's bed.

"I put the sleeping bag in your room if that's okay with you," Arashi said.

"That's fine."

It was late so they both decided to go to sleep.

It was about 5 minutes before Arashi spoke up, "Naruto-sensei."

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm glad someone like you is our sensei. I was hoping we didn't get someone mean."

Naruto laughed, "Thanks."

"So how was your childhood?" Arashi asked. He wanted to know his sensei better.

"My childhood…" Naruto said. He thought about it and decided to tell the truth. This was the only time that his father would ever hear how he grew up even though technically Arashi wasn't his father yet.

"Well it wasn't really nice I can tell you that."

"I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me if it brings back bad memories."

"No, it's alright. I want to tell you. When I was young I also didn't know my parents, just like you. They both died before I got to know them. Later on in life I finally knew who they were and why they died. They gave their life to save this village. Unlike you I didn't have many friends. I would pull pranks just to get attention. Also, unlike you I wasn't a very good shinobi."

Arashi sat up not believing him when he heard Naruto.

"It's true. You were way stronger than me when I was your age. I don't even remember doing anything when I was 6. I didn't graduate the academy until I was 12 and didn't make it to jounin until I was 18."

"So you never had any friends when you were younger?"

"I didn't have any friends until I was 12."

"But, why? You seem so nice. I thought you would have a lot of friends."

Naruto had already decided that he wouldn't tell Arashi that it was the Kyuubi, "I don't know really. I guess they just didn't like me. But, it's okay. I made a few friends later on."

"Who are they? Do I know them?" Arashi asked.

Naruto cursed himself for not remembering that Arashi knew all of the jounins and most of the chuunins, "I don't think so. They don't live in the village anymore. They're on missions in other smaller villages."

"So, you also had a bad childhood," Arashi said in a sad voice.

"It's okay. In fact I'm glad it happened," Naruto said.

"Why?"

"Because it made me who I am. Those hardships made me stronger," Naruto answered.

Arashi never thought about it before, but it made perfect sense. _Those that live through harder obstacles will become stronger than those who had everything hand-fed to them._ Maybe, he might become as strong as his sensei one day. The thought made him happy and he went to sleep.

Naruto was still up thinking about what just happened. Was it right telling his father about his past? He just wanted Arashi to know his past because he knew that Arashi would never have the chance to know. But what if somehow Arashi found out that he was indeed Naruto's father? Would he be able to go through with putting the Kyuubi in him, knowing how his son would be living his life? Naruto knew how important the day of his birth is. He stayed up for a long time thinking about what he just done. Naruto put his faith that Arashi would go through with it even if he somehow found out that he was his son.

_No jutsus this chapter_

--


	10. Ch 10:Information

10/30/2007

Hey, hope people are still reading. Sorry for the long update. I was looking for work (still am) and didn't have much time. Anyways, thanks for all the review. Hope you like this chapter and Happy Halloween.

**Chapter 10:Information**

For a week Naruto and his team didn't do much except for border control.

Naruto was at home thinking about what kind of training to do next with his team when he heard a knock on his door, "Oh hey Sakumo, what's up?"

"Nothing much. I was just wondering if you wanted to join us tonight at the bar/club. A couple of us get together once in a while so we can catch up with each other. You know, to see how what's everyone doing and keep in touch."

"Sure, what time?"

"Around 9. So, how did your date go?" Sakumo was grinning when he asked this. "I did warn you that you would lose."

Naruto laughed, "It went okay I guess. Thanks for your warning."

"So… when are we going to spar?"

"Not anytime soon, that's for sure."

Sakumo gave a slight shrug, "I can wait. Guess I'll see you later."

The day passed quickly because of training. Naruto finally showed the team the second step. He gave them the exact exercise that Jiraiya had given him and by afternoon they were all complaining that it was impossible.

It was 8:00 when he dismissed his team. Because he didn't want to go to the bar in his shinobi uniform he decided that he would change into something more comfortable. He put on a black shirt and a regular light blue pants. Finally, after grabbing his cool orange jacket he decided to head out.

As he walked into the bar he noticed that most of people there were not shinobis. Looking around he saw a small dance floor at the far end for people who wanted to dance. The age ranged from 21-30, with mostly the older people just sitting down with drinks while most of the younger people were dancing on the dance floor.

"Hey, glad you can make it," Sakumo said and he led Naruto back to where he was sitting. There were 6 people already sitting at the table before Naruto joined, 2 guys and 4 girls. Jiraiya was also sitting there with his red head friend accompanied with 3 girls that Naruto never seen. On the other side sat a girl with long white hair that reached her lower back. He could tell that she was a shinobi by the way she sat and her athletic body shape. Naruto thought she was very pretty.

"Hey guys and girls, this is Naruto," Sakumo said to the group.

He pointed at the pretty girl with white hair, "This is my fiancé, Reiri."

"So this is the Naruto you've been talking about. He's a lot younger than I imagined and also pretty handsome," Reiri said as she shook his hands. Naruto blushed.

"Hey I'm handsome also," Sakumo said jokingly to his wife.

"Of course you are dear," she replied and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Sakumo turned his attention back to the group, "You already know Jiraiya. These are Jiraiya's friends: Tsuzumi, Fumaki, Etsumi, and Hideo." They all waved at him.

Naruto took a seat by Sakumo and saw one of Jiraiya's girlfriend whispered into Jiraiya's ear. She had medium length purple hair and was wearing a very short black dress. By Sakumo's introduction Naruto knew this to be Fumaki.

"Yes, this is the guy," Jiraiya said out loud not caring to lower his voice.

"She just wanted to know if you were the one who beat me," Jiraiya said to Naruto.

_Well, he's taking it pretty lightly now_, Naruto thought.

Again he saw her whisper into Jiraiya's ear.

"Jeez, why don't you ask him yourself? It's not like you're shy," Jiraiya said out loud again.

"Naruto, she wants to know if you have a girlfriend or not," Jiraiya said. Everybody laughed and the girl giggled embarrassingly.

Naruto turned to her and answered politely, "Not right now."

With that she bounced up a little bit.

Jiraiya turned to his girlfriend, "Look I'm not going to be the messenger anymore. If you're interested you should ask the question. As you can see he's not going to bite your head off if you ask him a question."

Jiraiya decided to change the subject, "Well Naruto, I know you're strong, but lets see if you can drink. We've already started drinking so you have to catch up."

Naruto gulped. From his experience, he would bet his life savings that Jiraiya was a heavy drinker.

"He doesn't have to drink if he doesn't want to," Reiri interrupted.

"Oh, but he does. It's an unwritten rule of being a man. Isn't that right Sakumo?" Jiraiya said turning to Sakumo.

Sakumo laughed, "Sort of."

That answer made Reiri punch him Sakumo on the shoulders, "You're just as stupid as the next guy."

"A stupid guy that you're getting married to," Jiraiya said jokingly to her. He looked back at Naruto. "We've already had 3 shots Naruto. We're not into the game much yet, but I figured you should catch up. Since this is your first time with us, so we'll pay for your drinks today."

"No, it's okay," Naruto said.

"No, it's not okay. This is your first time out. We'll get this one. Pay one dime and we'll have to fight again."

"But you said he could beat you," Fumaki interrupted.

"That's not the point. I know he doesn't want to fight again even if he can beat me," Jiraiya said and he turned to Sakumo, "So, are you going to help me with the tab?"

"Sure, it's only right," Sakumo answered.

Jiraiya was about to go to the bartender when his red head friend stood up.

"I'll get this one," Hideo told him.

After about a minute Hideo came back with 11 small shot cups and passed 1 to each person and 4 to Naruto.

"Bottoms up," he said and they all downed their drinks.

The alcohol burned Naruto's throat as he drank it.

"Only 3 more for you Naruto," Jiraiya said.

Reiri shook her head in disagreement, "Well, I'm off to the dance floor. You guys want to come?"

All the girls agreed and so did Hideo.

"I think I'll stay here," Sakumo answered.

"Same here," Jiraiya said.

"Naruto?" Reiri asked.

Jiraiya laughed, "He can't go, he has to finish his drinks first."

"Naruto, you know you don't have to do what they say. They're just pressuring you. You can come with us if you want," Reiri objected.

"It's alright, I'll come down later," Naruto answered.

She shook her head showing him that she didn't like his decision.

"Okay it's your decision, don't go so hard on him," she glared at Jiraiya and Sakumo.

"We won't," Sakumo answered and with that she, Tsuzumi, Fumaki, Etsumi, and Hideo left to the dance floor.

"I saw you with Tsunade last week. So, how did it go?" Jiraiya asked.

"It was okay I guess."

Jiraiya threw his arms behind his seat, "I've tried asking her for a date long ago and almost got killed for doing that. I can't believe you made it out alive. You are one brave man."

The 3 of them laughed.

"So you've got an interest in my teammate," Jiraiya said grinning at Naruto.

"The only reason…" Naruto started to say, but he was interrupted.

"She's quite a looker, don't you think?" Jiraiya still had his grin.

"Ummm…" but Naruto was interrupted again.

"Knew you would agree with me. She's quite rough sometimes. I thought you wouldn't like that cause you seem too much like a nice guy, but I guess opposite attract," Jiraiya said.

"Well…"

"Just one thing, try and be nice to her. Yes, I know it's hard cause of the way she is, but she's had a rough life. Don't tell her I said that though. It'll ruin my image," Jiraiya said.

Sakumo nodded at the entrance, "Speaking of Tsunade."

"Weird, I have never seen her come here before. Nyoko I see once in a while, but Tsunade…" Sakumo said.

"Same here," Jiraiya commented.

Nyoko and Tsunade immediately walked over to the bartender and ordered some drinks. After that they walked over to the group.

"Is it alright if we sit here?" Nyoko asked.

"No, go right ahead," Sakumo answered.

"What brings you girls here?" Jiraiya asked.

"What? Is it illegal for a girl to go out without permission now?" Tsunade asked him rudely.

"Damn Tsunade it was just a question. I was just wondering what made you decide to come," Jiraiya said.

"Just bored I guess," she replied.

Just as Naruto was drinking his last shot to catch up Tsunade sat down he spilled the rest of his shot, which still contained about ¾ of a shot.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that Naruto. I'll replace that one for you," she told him.

"Hey I got a camera, let's take a picture," Nyoko said.

She tapped the person behind her, "Hey can you take our picture?"

He nodded and they got into position.

"1, 2, 3..." The person gave Nyoko her camera back.

"Maybe if we get you drunk enough you'll spill some of your past to us," Tsunade was smirking.

"No, I don't think my tongue will slip."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Alright guess I'll be buying us a lot of drinks today then," Tsunade told the group.

"We were going to do the same thing," Jiraiya said.

"Alright we can split the bill then," Tsunade told him.

After 30 minutes of drinking Tsunade and Nyoko went to the bathroom. Reiri and the others had also rejoined the group. They sat down and to Naruto's surprise Fumaki sat right next to him.

"Hi Nyoko, hi Tsunade," Reiri said as Tsunade and Nyoko returned.

"Hi Reiri," they both answered.

"What's wrong, back so early?" Sakumo asked his fiancé.

"It's boring without you guys."

"So Naruto, Jiraiya has told me some things about you and you seem like an interesting person," Fumaki said in a sweet voice. Naruto's first impression of the girl was incorrect. He thought that she was a shy girl, but it turned out he was wrong. She was sitting very close to him, way too close.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

"I guess." He quickly felt a wave of chakra coming from Nyoko's position as he answered Fumaki.

"The reason why I want to know is because Jiraiya just said that a strong and young person showed up. So, you said that you're single, am I correct? I'm just wondering what type of girls are you into?"

"All kinds," Naruto answered.

"That's kind of vague. Can you go elaborate?"

Nyoko interrupted their conversation. "He's into shinobis," she said in a throwaway voice knowing that the girl wasn't a shinobi.

Fumaki looked at Naruto, "Is that true?"

"No, not really."

"Then why don't you have a girlfriend? I would think that a person like you wouldn't be single."

Naruto noticed that she sat even closer to him after saying this.

Naruto gave a weak laugh, "Just haven't found the right one that's all."

During the next 3 hours Fumaki plastered Naruto with uncomfortable, but also dull questions; questions about how strong he was, does he like girls with purple hair, what kind of clothes he liked on a girl. It was a relief to him when the group finally decided that it was time to go.

Fumaki gave Naruto a kiss on the cheek before heading off with Jiraiya. Just as the group left Naruto heard his name and turned around.

"Could you walk us home just in case?" Nyoko asked him. "We could get rob or something. You know… cause we're girls."

Naruto knew what was going on, but it would be a big hassle to try and talk out of it so he agreed. Plus, he was a bit dizzy from the booze himself and a walk could be good.

"So what did you think of Fumaki?" Nyoko asked him.

"Well, she's okay," Naruto replied.

"You know what I meant," Nyoko said.

"She's nice, but I don't really think I'm into her."

Nyoko laughed, "Yeah, I agree, she's a dolt isn't she."

To Nyoko's surprise Tsunade spoke up, "She's not a dolt."

"Sorry Tsunade, but she was asking Naruto really stupid questions," Nyoko interjected.

"Well at least he answered most of them unlike when I asked. How many of my questions did you answer, Naruto?"

"Well, she was asking me easier questions you see… And I did answer quite a few of your questions remember," Naruto reminded her. He didn't like the where the conversation going.

"So you're not interested in her then?" Nyoko asked again.

"You never know what can happen," Naruto replied.

After 15 minutes of walking Tsunade held out her hand to stop them.

"What is it?" Naruto asked her.

"Did you guys see that?" Tsunade asked them.

Naruto and Nyoko shook their heads.

"It was a shinobi," Tsunade told the two.

"Well, this is the hidden village Tsunade. It could be just one of our shinobis," Nyoko replied.

"No, they were moving too quietly to be one of ours," Tsunade answered her.

"Nyoko, you go to Jiraiya's and Sakumo's house. Go and see if they're alright," Tsunade told her.

Nyoko gave Tsunade a surprised look, "Why? I'm sure they're okay."

"Just do it," Tsunade said in a commanding tone.

"Alright, alright, jeez don't get all mad," and with that Nyoko took off.

"I'm going to follow the shinobi. Naruto you should go home," Tsunade told him.

"Hey, I'm not going home. I'll go with you," Naruto replied.

"No, you can't. This doesn't concern you."

"It concerns me if it might have something to do with my friends."

She really didn't want him to go, but she might lose track of the shinobi if they continued arguing about it, "Fine, follow me then. Let's just follow the shinobi from a distance."

"Should we wait for Nyoko?"

"No, by the time she is able to join us the shinobi would be too far."

"She's only checking…"

But before he could finish Naruto was interrupted by Tsunade, "Trust me alright. I know what I'm talking about."

Naruto nodded his head.

With that Tsunade and Naruto began jumping between the houses until they reached the forest.

Tsunade pointed up to the branches, "Looks like they're in a hurry and didn't cover their tracks. Come on."

After a complete 30 minutes of silence of just traveling through the forest Naruto spoke up, "Care to explain what's happening?"

Tsunade looked back, "So you know something's up then."

"Well, it's pretty obvious."

"Alright, Sarutobi sensei was suspecting a traitor in the hidden village of leaf."

"How so?"

"In the beginning of last year a lot of it a lot of information was known by the enemy. Too much information: information about our attacks, our supplies, and especially our shinobis' abilities, stuff like that. This lead to only one conclusion, someone from the inside was giving out this information. Sensei gave me this as a mission a long time ago. I'm to find out who the traitor was and exterminate them."

"Do you have a clue to who it was?"

"It's not concrete evidence, but I'm pretty sure who it is," Tsunade said.

"Mind telling me?" Naruto asked after a few minutes.

"You'll see when we get there," Tsunade answered him.

After that they traveled in silence again for what seemed to be like hours and hours. The sun was changing from a dark black sky to an orange one. Then all of the sudden he saw that Tsunade had stopped and so he did too.

"Before we go Naruto I must do something," she turned around and swung at his stomach.

Naruto barely managed to jump out of the way, "What are you doing Tsunade!? It's not me I swear it."

"I know it's not you. Like I said the traitor was already giving out information before you appeared."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to protect you."

"You're trying to protect me by killing me!?"

She answered in a calm voice, "You're slower than usual. You would have dodged that easily before."

"What do you mean?"

"You've been poisoned."

"Poisoned? I don't feel any different."

"It's not a poison that kills. It's a poison that completely shuts down your chakra output without affecting anything else. This makes it hard for the poisoned person to know that they were poisoned. Most people don't feel it until they start to use some chakra."

"How do you know I was poisoned?"

"It was in one of your shots. It looks like you didn't get the full dosage though. I managed to make you spill most of it. Still, it might still affect your fighting and I think it's better if you were to stay."

Naruto thought back to when he was taking shots, "It's Hideo then."

Tsunade nodded her head. "Most of information on shinobis' abilities that the enemy knew was on Jiraiya. That's where Sarutobi wanted me to start first, but then I think Hideo somehow found out that I was on to him so he stopped giving out information for a while. But, I always knew that he would try again."

"But Jiraiya and Sakumo also drank it."

"Yes, that's why I said that Nyoko wouldn't be joining us. She's probably getting the poison out right now. It's nothing lethal, but it's better if she gets it out of their system quickly."

clap, clap, clap

Naruto and Tsunade turned around and saw Hideo and Seiji standing on one of the branches.

"Very good Tsunade. I thought you stopped your mission after the other villages stopped receiving information, but it seemed that I was wrong. You really do live up to the name of sannin unlike that other fool. My plan today wasn't completely successful, but it worked better than expected considering you came to the bar also," Hideo said. His voice was calm and cold, unlike what Tsunade was used to.

Tsunade glared at the two.

Hideo then looked at Naruto, "You really threw a wrench in the plans, you know that. Before you came it seemed that Konoha was ready to fall, but the Raikage had to reformulate his plan after hearing how strong you were. But, it seems like you'll meet your death today. I'll kill you in your weakened stated. Tsunade will also die here tonight."

He handed a piece of paper to Seiji and Seiji left.

"Don't talk like you can take on me Hideo," Tsunade said abruptly.

"Oh of course not. My abilities are not up to yours but, if you're like any Konoha shinobi you will protect those in need," as he said that he attached a claw to his hand.

Tsunade's eyes widen and she knew exactly what he was going to do. Hideo immediately went to slash Naruto, but Naruto managed to jump out of the way.

"Well, you really are something. Still able to move that fast while having that poison in your system," Hideo said to Naruto.

Tsunade tried to punch Hideo, but missed. After missing her punch she jumped between him and Naruto, placing herself about 10 feet in front of Naruto.

"You won't get me if you're trying to protect him also. I know that you're putting yourself between him and I. How are you going to attack then?" Hideo asked.

All of the sudden his claws detached and went straight for Naruto. This time Naruto wasn't fast enough, but luckily Tsunade threw a few kunais to stop the claws from hitting him. The claws retracted back to Hideo.

"You see Tsunade. You can't win like this. I will enjoy this. After taking you and him down, Konoha's power will go down quite a lot," Hideo said.

Tsunade did a few hand seals, "Sui Tsuba (Acid Spit)." Hundred of little green spit came from Tsunade's mouth.

"You're never going to hit me straight on Tsunade. You have to get in position to hit me with anything and with him helpless you won't be able to get into position," Hideo said to her.

Deep down Tsunade knew that Hideo was right. Even though she was stronger, it would be next to impossible to defeat Hideo straight on.

"Just go," Naruto said to Tsunade.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked back.

"Leave me," Naruto responded.

"I can't do that! He's going to attack you if I leave. You can't dodge most of his attacks," Tsunade said.

"It doesn't matter. If you stay and protect me we'll both die. It's better if one of us survives."

"Don't say stupid things like that," Tsunade said.

"You should listen to him Tsunade. What he's saying is true. It's either you protect him and you both die or come after me and he dies," Hideo said.

Before Hideo could finish his words Tsunade punched the ground which sent up a cloud of dust. Then she grabbed Naruto's wrist and started to run before the dust could settle.

_I can't beat him with Naruto in this condition. It doesn't matter if Hideo gets away since we've concrete evidence on the traitor. We can kill him later. Right now the priority is to save Naruto and myself_, Tsunade thought to herself as she pulled Naruto's wrist.

"I'm slowing you down Tsunade. We can't escape. Just leave me please," there was a sense of urgency in Naruto's voice as he told her.

"Didn't I tell you not to say stupid things like that," Tsunade retorted.

It was barely 5 minutes before a kunai flew pass them.

"Leaving so soon?" Hideo asked and he jumped in front of them.

"I can't believe it. Do you not have any shame Tsunade? Running away from me," Hideo said mockingly.

Hideo sent his claws at Naruto again, but this time Tsunade caught one of the wires that was connected to the claws and pulled it. Hideo came flying forward towards her, but just as she was about to punch his face he disconnected himself from his claws and dodged her attack by ducking under. He was able to get past her and Tsunade saw him pulling out a sword ready to strike Naruto. _No_, she thought to herself. As she recovered she immediately used all her force to try and get to where Naruto was before Hideo could get there. But, he already had a head start and was already making a slashing movement. Tsunade could see Naruto trying to dodge the attack, but knew that if she didn't do something he would get hit. With no other choice she threw herself in front of Naruto to shield him. The sword slash across her chest, but she was able to punched Hideo in the stomach, which blew out his intestines and he coughed out some blood.

"Thank you Tsunade," Hideo's voice had changed. It was warm and friendly now. "Seiji's… he's been controlling me all this time for over a year. It was terrible, I would see myself giving information on my friends, but somehow couldn't stop it."

"Stop talking Hideo, you don't have much time. I'll try to heal you," Tsunade responded.

Hideo coughed again, "No, you have to save yourself. My claws… it's coated with poison…. not my poison…. something different."

Just as he said this Tsunade felt her muscles weakening.

Hideo's voiced changed back to the cold tone, "At least I was able to defeated a sannin so there's a blow to Konoha." Hideo's body dropped to the floor.

Tsunade also dropped to the floor at the same time, unable to move her muscles.

Naruto shook her, "Tsunade, don't go to sleep."

But as he said this he could tell that she was fading away fast. Her eyes were already rolling back into her sockets.

"No... no... this can't be happening," he said out loud.

Blood touched the side of his face as he put his face near her chest. Listening hard he could hear a very fast, but irregular heartbeat. Without the equipment and monitors he didn't know how the poison worked.

"I will have to risk it," Naruto said to himself. The only other option was to go back to Konoha, but Naruto knew that it was too far.

He carried Tsunade in a straddle position and began moving towards the mountains just in case more shinobis came. He moved as fast as he could without disrupting Tsunade too much because he knew that if he did, the poison would spread faster.

After 30 minutes he found a small seclude cave. It was about the size of a small room with a small opening, just big enough to crawl through. He crossed his finger, "Kage Bunshin," and 3 clones pop out. _Damn, only 3_.

"You 2, go and find the ingredients. You should be able to travel some distance with the amount of chakra I gave you," and two of the clones immediately left.

He then pointed to the last clone, "Make a glass bowl. You'll be mixing the antidote."

Then he bit his thumb and did a few hand seals, "Summoning no jutsu," Gamakichi and Gamatatsu pop out.

"I'm counting on you Gamakichi," as he said this, his voice shook uncontrollably. "You know that you have the hardest ingredient by far."

"No problem Naruto. I'll go as fast as I can"

"Gamatatsu, I didn't cover our tracks. Can you go and cover them for us?"

"Do I get a treat?"

"Yes, I'll give you a treat," Naruto answered calmly.

"Yay!" and Gamatatsu began hopping outside.

Just as Gamakichi was about to leave to search for his ingredients, he turned back to look at Naruto. He saw that Naruto was searching furiously through Tsunade's pocket and after a few moments of searching Naruto pulled out a syringe.

"What are you doing?" Gamakichi asked knowing the answer already.

"Why are you still here Gamakichi?" Naruto asked, shocked that Gamakichi hasn't left yet.

"I said what are you doing?" Gamakichi asked again.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to inject the poison into myself," Naruto answered.

It was just as Gamakichi feared, "What if the antidote doesn't work? You know it only works on roughly 70 of the poisons out there. That's not the real problem. You know that the ingredients are very rare."

"You won't find the ingredients if you're still here Gamakichi," Naruto said loudly in an angry voice.

"Sorry, but I can't let you do this," Gamakichi responded.

"Gamakichi, this isn't the time alright. You know that it's the only way. I would risk my life even if there was a 1 chance."

Gamakichi saw his determination. He nodded and left out of the cave.

Naruto knew what he had to do. While Sakura could carefully take out most of the poison, he knew that this wasn't an option for him. His chakra control wasn't on par with teammate. If he tried, he might accidently kill her. He also knew that the antidote will take 3 days and if he didn't stop the poison from spreading as soon as he could, she could be dead by then. So his only option was to stop the poison from spreading throughout Tsunade's body and without knowing how the poison responded in the body, he had to inject it into himself.

He put the syringe in Tsunade's arm and took some of her blood. _Ready Naruto. You only get one chance at this. You've also got to distinguish this poison from the other one that disrupts your chakra_. He slowly took a breath, closed his eyes and plunge the needle into his upper arm. Slowly, he squeezed the syringe and immediately felt the poison flow through him. He concentrated on his body, searching for the places where it felt different._ Gotcha_, he said to himself and he focused his chakra near his shoulders. _Now, I have to let my blood flow, but keep the poison stationary_. Naruto focused his chakra to even a smaller degree. Finally he opened his eyes, still sending a constant amount of chakra on his shoulders so that the poison won't be able to spread.

Looking down at Tsunade he knew this was going to be a lot harder. She was struck with a huge dose of poison and it already had time to spread. He took out a kunai and sliced his hand open. Closing his eyes in concentration again he placed his hands on her bloody chest. Letting his and her blood mix he sent some chakra into her. Concentrate Naruto, concentrate, he told himself. Suddenly he felt a wave of energy coming to him, almost like Tsunade's body was talking to him. He heard the faint beating of her heart, the slow breath she was taking, he even heard the blood rushing through her veins. Instead of just trapping the poison like he did with his body, he searched for the spot where the poison was most concentrated. He knew it was most important to stop the spread from that location first. _This poison attacks the CNS. No wonder why she fell down immediately_. Still closing his eyes he gather some chakra and focused it on the poison. He molded his chakra into little bubbles to surround the poison and hold it in place. This was hard for Naruto because he had to send a constant amount of chakra. Too much chakra and Tsunade's natural immune system will attack his chakra, which will free the poison. Too little and the poison could escape. The chakra bubbles also had to be small enough to allow blood to constantly flow throughout the body while keeping the poison stationary. Stop the blood circulation and the person could die.

After making chakra bubbles in Tsunade's CNS system to trap the poison, he worked on the poison in the veins so that it couldn't spread. Finally, after getting all the poison in the veins he concentrated on her most important muscles, the heart, lungs, then finally the muscular system. After making all the poison stationary he concentrated on keeping the chakra constant which took a lot of work since he was never that good at chakra control.

"How are you doing back there?" he asked his clone.

"Almost finish," the clone answered. He was blowing fire to a sand-made bowl.

Just then a clone came through the opening of the cave. "Here's the first ingredient," the clone said and he dropped a clear see-through rose on Naruto's lap.

It was another 45 minutes before the other clone showed up and gave him a single white sharp tooth.

"Thanks, you guys can go now," and they disappeared. He still wasn't relieved yet because he knew that the hardest ingredient was still missing. It was all up to Gamakichi now.

He went back to concentrating his chakra.

It took another hour before Gamakichi hopped into the cave.

As soon as Gamakichi came in Naruto asked, "Did you find it?"

"Yes, I've a few right here. I hope they aren't dead yet," Gamakichi said looking up at him. Gamakichi looked up at Naruto. He and his younger brother had always had a better relationship with Naruto than all of their former contract signers. Unlike Jiraiya or their former contract signers, Naruto had used him and Gamatatsu quite a lot. They and Naruto had a sort of bond that could never be broken. He knew that sometimes Naruto could use other frogs for a mission instead, but for some strange reason Naruto had always called upon them when in the most need.

Naruto nodded to the only remaining clone to check what Gamakichi had. The clone held out his hand and Gamakichi spat out a few tiny slugs. The clone quickly gave a look to see which one was still alive. He grabbed the single live one and put it into the glass-made bowl with the other ingredients and the solution immediately turned blue.

"3 days and don't stop even for a second," Naruto said out loud and the clone nodded.

Gamatatsu had also returned.

"I've cleaned up the body and your trial Naruto. Can I have my treat now?"

"Not yet Gamatatsu, but I'll get you a treat as soon as I can, okay."

"Okay. I can wait. I can see that this is important. Hey brother, is that the slug-woman?" Gamatatsu asked Gamakichi.

"Yes, it is."

"She's a lot younger than I remember."

"What do you mean from what you remember? You haven't even seen her in real life until now. Jiraiya never summoned us while she was around," Gamakichi said.

"Whenever I look through Naruto's past I see an older woman that looks just like her," Gamatatsu said.

"We aren't suppose to know Naruto during this time-period and he has technically never summoned us yet. The only reason we have knowledge of him and his past is because he brought the scroll with him. Didn't you get the knowledge the moment he came here?" Gamakichi asked in disbelief.

"Really? I thought I always knew him."

"You know him because he signed the contract from the future you dope," Gamakichi said.

"So, technically this is his first time summoning us? I felt like I've always known him," Gamatatsu asked his older brother very confused, hopping up and down in one place as he asked the question.

Gamakichi opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. Then he started to scratch his head. It was kind of weird. It felt like he always knew Naruto, but this was the technically the first time that Naruto has summoned him, "Yeah I guess so. But who cares. We've got to help him all that we can."

"Okay," Gamatatsu replied.

"Thanks guys," Naruto said to them.

Naruto placed his jacket on Tsunade to keep her warm, but still kept his hand on her chest so that he could keep sending chakra into her. As the time past, he was able to keep the chakra constant a little easier because the poison that he drank at the bar was wearing off. Plus, he could use all of his chakra now which made things a little easier. His clone was kept busy by swirling the mixture. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu remained to kept Naruto company, but stayed silent cause they knew that he needed to concentrate.

By the end of the 2nd day though he was becoming exhausted. He refused Gamakichi's suggestion of finding him some food and drink.

"It doesn't matter if you find me some food. This is the only thing I can keep my focus on. I won't risk losing my focus by eating something," Naruto told him.

By the 3rd day the only thing that kept him going was the thought of what would happen to Tsunade if he stopped. Another probably was keeping a constant flow of chakra. His chakra reserve was still quite high, but unlike his teammate Sakura who can do this for weeks, it was hard work for him to keep sending a constant amount of chakra.

"There's only 6 more hours left Naruto," Gamakichi said encouragingly near the end of the 3rd day and Naruto nodded his head. He looked at Naruto and could see that Naruto's eyes were barely opened and he was taking very slow breaths.

Just then Gamakichi saw a small trial of blood was dripping from Naruto's left nostril, "Naruto, your nose. It's bleeding!"

"It's alright Gamakichi. I'm alright."

"Are you sure Naruto?" Gamatatsu asked very concerned.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," but as he said that he cough into his free hand and felt some blood. He tried to cover it quickly so that Gamakichi and Gamatatsu wouldn't see it, but he was too slow.

"You haven't eaten, sleep, or drink anything in 3 days Naruto. I know it's taken a lot out of you. While you still might have a lot of chakra left, those things are essential," Gamakichi said.

"I know, but there is no other way is there. This is nothing, don't worry about it," and Naruto cough up some blood again.

"Don't die Naruto," Gamatatsu said worried.

This made Naruto chuckle, "Don't worry Gamatatsu, this won't do me in."

A little more blood dripped from his nose.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity the clone spoke up, "It's finish."

"Alright, get a syringe from her jacket and give her a shot," he was still keeping his chakra flow constant. The clone did what he was told.

"Alright, now give me a shot," Naruto said and the clone did. Finally he let go of his chakra flow and dropped to all fours over Tsunade. There was nothing more to do. If the antidote didn't work, both he and she will die.

He looked at her face, but there wasn't any reaction. She looked lifeless, still breathing, but lifeless. Then her breathing became even slower and Naruto closed his eyes. _The antidote didn't work. The poison is now circulating again since I've let go of my chakra_.

Just as he was about to fall over he heard a very soft voice, "Naruto?"

Naruto looked at Tsunade and smiled, "Sorry about touching you there." Then without any notice he dropped on top of her.

_Jutsu descriptions:_

**Sui Tsuba: Acid Spit** – (B-rank) A ninjutsu where the user spits out hundreds of spit from the mouth that is made of acid. It can burn through steel.


	11. Ch 11:Warning

11/7/07

**Chapter 11:Warning**

Tsunade grabbed Naruto just before he fell on top of her and moved him to the side. She was very weak, but she managed to sit up.

She slightly slapped his face to wake him, "Naruto, are you alright?"

"Let him sleep," said a voice. Tsunade turned around, but she didn't see anyone. Then she looked to the floor and saw 2 frogs, a small orange one and an even smaller yellow one.

"How do you know Naruto?" Tsunade asked surprised.

"Naruto's our boss, yep. He's a good boss. He gives me lots of treats," the small yellow one answered.

"Sorry for my little brother. I'm Gamakichi and this is my little brother Gamatatsu. It's nice to meet you. And you are?" Gamakichi asked even though he already knew who she was.

"I'm Tsunade. So you must be his summons then? Am I correct?" Tsunade asked. _This is weird. I thought only Jiraiya was able to summon frogs_, she thought, but she shrugged it off.

"Yes, that's correct."

She head was still a little hazy and her head felt heavy. Then all of the sudden the memories were coming back to her. She had protected Naruto from Hideo's attack and was poisoned.

"How long was I out?" Tsunade asked.

"About 3 days," Gamakichi answered.

"The poison didn't kill me in 3 days?" she asked surprised.

"Oh, I'm sure the poison would have killed you in less than a day, but Naruto stopped that from happening," Gamakichi said.

"How?"

"He stopped the poison from spreading by making a bubble around the poison and applying a constant flow of chakra to where the poison was located," Gamakichi said.

"Without equipment? How would he know what kinds of things to look for?" She asked amazed. Even she couldn't do that.

"He injected the poison into himself also to see how it works and feels," Gamakichi said calmly.

Tsunade's eyes opened wide and she looked at Naruto, "What a stupid thing to do."

Gamakichi didn't say anything because he did agree with her.

"Well, that's Naruto for you. He's always doing things his ways. Even when you think you've seen it all he does something so stupid you can't help but respect him," Gamakichi said with pride.

"Yeah, Naruto's the coolest guy ever. 3 days of no sleep, treats, or water," Gamatatsu said nodding his head.

"He kept this up for 3 days?" she asked.

"Yeah, his nose was bleeding and he was coughing up blood, but Naruto just laughed and said that it won't do him in. And of course he was right. He's strong," Gamatatsu answered her.

She looked down at him and saw a trial of blood coming from his left nostril and both of his hands covered in blood.

"But how? How did he find an antidote for the poison then? There wasn't any equipment to use," she asked.

"He made a very complex antidote that would cure roughly 70 of all known poisons," Gamakichi answered.

"And he knew it would work on this one?"

Gamakichi chuckled, "Like I said he does some real stupid things that just make you respect him."

Tsunade had never heard of an antidote that cures 70 of poisons and she was the best antidote maker that she knew. She was very interested because an antidote like this would be a huge advantage in the war.

"I've never heard of an antidote that strong before," she said interestedly.

Gamakichi shook his head knowing what she was thinking, "Sorry, but it can't be made in excess. It's more of a one time deal antidote."

"Why's that?"

"First off, the ingredients are extremely rare. Second, it only lasts 30 minutes after it's ready."

"But, I might be able to make something of it," Tsunade added.

Gamakichi nodded over to the bowl, "Go ahead, I'm sure Naruto won't mind you examining the ingredients. There are still a few ounces left over in that bowl. That should be enough to examine what's in the antidote."

Tsunade stood up and walked to the bowl, but stopped herself, "This antidote… was it something Naruto invented? I don't want to steal any of his work without him knowing."

At this Gamakichi laughed, "Naruto didn't come up with this antidote. He's a good shinobi, but discovering and making new antidotes was never one of his strong points."

"So he learned it from someone else?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, he learned it," Gamakichi said.

"Do I know person? I should know them, if they're a good antidote maker. I might be able to make something out of it if I meet the person."

"You might know her."

"What's her name?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you that."

At this Tsunade made a disgusting face at the 2 frogs, which scared them.

Then after a few minutes of silence Tsunade looked up and said more to herself than to the frogs, "Why would you do something like this for me when we hardly know each other? 3 days of no sleep, injecting poison into yourself so you'll know how the poison worked, risking your life on an antidote that wasn't even made yet."

To her surprise the little yellow frog answered, "Huh? You should know, it's because he sees you as his m…"

Smack

"Stupid Gamatatsu shut-up," Gamakichi said.

"Oh sorry brother I forgot," Gamatatsu responded rubbing his head.

Tsunade quickly looked at the little frog with a confused face, "he sees me as 'what?'"

"Nothing, nothing," Gamatatsu gave a weak laugh, but this didn't fool Tsunade. She knew he was hiding something.

She suddenly didn't care about the antidote anymore. Here was someone who knew about Naruto's past.

"You know about Naruto's past, don't you?" her eyes narrowed menacingly as she said this.

"Umm, Naruto's past. Heh heh, what past?" Gamatatsu said in even a more unconvincing voice.

"What do you know about him? Since he won't tell me I'll get the information from you. Come here you little frog," and she lunged at them, but missed.

"AHHH!! Run brother, even though we just saved her life the slug-lady's still as mean as ever," Gamatatsu yelled at the top of his lungs as he hopped around trying to get out of the cave. Gamakichi didn't need telling twice and he began hopping away also.

"Come here," Tsunade made another lunge at the 2 frogs, but they suddenly disappeared.

"Stupid frog come back," she yelled, but she knew it was useless because they had gone back to their dimension.

_Stupid frogs. I hate frogs, reminds me of Jiraiya_, she thought to herself.

After 30 minutes of cursing those stupid frogs she went outside to hunt for some food and also to bring back some water. While it was already dark she was extremely hungry and thirsty and she also knew that Naruto would feel the same way whenever he woke up. It would save some time if she gather the food and water already.

She brought back some fish and some clean fresh water. Making a slow burning fire so that there wouldn't be any evidence that they were there, she slowly cooked the fish and ate it.

She thought about her options. While she could carry him back to Konoha, it was nighttime and she figured that they could leave tomorrow or the next day. Plus, she was still very weak.

Tsunade looked down at his face which was very bloody. Grabbing one of her sleeves she ripped it off and soaked it into some water. She wiped the blood of his face and hands and stared at him for a few minutes. Tsunade shook him a little to see if he would wake up, but he didn't. _He's completely asleep. He completely trusts me to protect his life, but why?_ Tsunade knew that most shinobis, even if they were tired, do not go in a deep sleep in case of an ambush.

_He's unlike any shinobi I've seen or met before_.

She continued to stare at him for a few more minutes until she decided it was time for sleep also. As she lied down on the floor on the other side of the fire she saw his jacket near her. She picked it up, walked towards the sleeping Naruto and put the jacket on top of him. But, for some reason she didn't go back to the other side of the fire. _It is pretty cold tonight_, she thought and this wasn't a lie. It was about 10 degrees even though they were in a cave. _It sure looked warm under that orange jacket_, she thought.

"What am I thinking?" she said laughing to herself while shaking her head. But, then she looked down at Naruto again. _It's not like anyone will know. He's deep asleep anyways. Plus it's cold. Yeah, that's a good reason. I can't die from hypothermia. I just have to wake up before he does_.

She poked him slightly again just to make sure that he was indeed in a deep sleep. When he didn't respond she lifted the jacket up and went under it also. She noticed that his body felt cold compared to hers, but as the night slowly pass their body began to slowly warm up because of the body heat.

--

Naruto woke up and to his surprise he felt pretty warm.

"I thought you would be hungry so I cook some fish. Plus, there's some water over there," Tsunade said and she handed him a fish on the stick.

"Oh, thanks," Naruto responded. He immediately ate the fish and drank a whole galloon of water.

Tsunade eyed him cautiously to see if he had any indication of what she did yesterday, but it seemed like he was still the same old person.

"Whew, that was good," Naruto said rubbing his stomach.

"I think that we should rest another day. I don't feel that well yet and we might meet other shinobis along the way since we're at the edge of Fire Country."

Naruto nodded. He was glad that it was Tsunade instead of him mentioning this. He was also still fatigued from what he done.

"Well, since you drank all of the water I'll go get some more. Can you get some fish for us for later?"

"Sure, I can do that," Naruto said and got up.

Tsunade returned after half an hour and to her surprise Naruto wasn't back yet. After an hour of waiting she started to get worried. _What if something happened to him?_

--

Naruto was lying down near the side of the river with a fishing pole by his feet.

"Where have you been? You should have gotten the fish already."

"Well, I haven't gotten the fish yet."

"Why not?"

He pointed at the fishing pole, "They're not biting, look."

Tsunade looked at him stupidly, "What do you mean not biting? Just use you ninjutsu. Don't tell me that you don't know how to catch a fish."

"It doesn't taste as good that way."

"It tastes exactly the same."

"No, trust me it tastes different. Plus, it's not about fishing. It's about relaxing, come on take a seat with me. We still have all a lot of time and we just ate. There's no time to rush things," he took her hand and pulled her towards the fishing pole.

Naruto lie down by the fishing pole and patted the ground indicating that she should sit there.

Tsunade took a seat by him and after a few minutes she said, "Naruto, this is lame."

Naruto laughed, "It's not lame."

"Let's get the fish and we can relax, sleep, whatever, in the cave instead."

"Why would you want to do that when the sun's this bright outside? Come on, just lie down and relax. You need it."

"I need it?"

"Yes you do," he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to lie down.

After a few minutes Naruto spoke up, "Hey Tsunade, can I ask you a favor?"

"What is it?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto thought about his question and how to word it. He knew that it would seem like an odd request, but he had always wanted to do this with her. She had always refused before when he and Jiraiya asked her to go with them.

"Can we pretend this is a camping trip?"

_What a weird request_, Tsunade thought, but then she remembered that he just saved her life.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked slowly.

"Well I mean, we don't have much to do. We can't really do anything cause we're still exhausted. Let's just pretend this is a camping trip," he was sat up and was beaming down at her.

She was amazed how much he looked like a little child, "Alright, I guess it's okay," she said awkwardly.

Naruto bowed his head in thanks. "Thank you. You won't regret it. It'll be fun," he said excitedly.

"So, what do people do on a camping trip?" She asked.

"The first thing is that we can't use any ninjutsu today. That's very important. There isn't much to do on a camping trip. It's more of a relaxation trip. But, remember that we can't use any ninjutsu today to get what we need."

She was starting to regret her rash decision already, "Okay, that sounds easy."

Naruto was smiling at her, "Yeah, it is. Okay first thing we have to do is catch some fish for us to eat. So do you think you can do that?"

"Seems simple enough," Tsunade answered and she sat up. "So we use this fishing pole."

Naruto nodded and lied back down. Tsunade watch the fishing pole for about 30 minutes and nothing was happening.

"You don't have to watch it constantly. Lie back down," he told. She decided to take his advice and lie down next to him.

After a minute Tsunade spoke up, "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why are you always so happy?"

"Am I supposed to be gloomy?" Naruto asked.

"No, no, of course not. Sorry if I offended you, but I was just wondering cause you seem so carefree and happy all the time. It's a time of war and I was just wondering."

"Oh, I don't mean to mock the people that died."

"No, it's not like that. It's just… it's real hard for me to be happy at a time like this and when I see that people are happy I just wonder to myself, 'How? How can they be happy while all these bad things are happening around them?' I mean, it's not only you. Nyoko, Sakumo, and Jiraiya, they seem happy all the time and I know they've lost a lot of friends. I don't know, I guess what I'm saying is that deep down I'm jealous. Not that I don't want them to be happy, but it's just that I want the same thing also."

"Well, I'm sure that they've all had their share of their down time, but I think they're always trying to look at the bright side. Nyoko, she still has you. You're still alive. Sakumo, he's still has his wife. Jiraiya, he still has his teammates. And while all of them have lost a lot of friends they still have each other."

Naruto continued, "Plus, knowing that they're fighting so that the next generation can live a better life than them. Because of this reason I think they're able to let go of some of the pain."

"And what about you? What do you have?"

It took a little bit of time before Naruto answered, "I have my team. Plus, I've met you guys, which I'm glad I did. And you?"

"I don't know. It seems like I've pushed all of my friends out of my life after I lost 'him.' I often wonder if I've distance myself too far from them to just all of the sudden rekindle the old bonds. I haven't really talked to any of them much or joined them for anything for about 3 years. I've excluded almost everyone out of my life except Nyoko. And she's only there because she didn't let me push her away," she told Naruto sadly.

"I'm sure they would be glad to see you."

"Do you really think so, even after all these years? I mean, do you think they'll just forgive me for pushing them out like that?"

"What do you mean forgive you? You didn't do anything wrong. I'm sure they never thought about it like that. I'm sure that they're were thinking that you just needed more time. If you start opening up to them again, I'm sure they'll be happy."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

They lied down for another 30 minutes, the pole started to shake and Naruto said, "Grab it."

Tsunade was thinking about what Naruto said and almost forgot that they were there trying to catch a fish. She immediately got up and pulled the fishing pole. To her surprise there was a big fish was attached to the line.

"I did it," Tsunade said in surprised at her own success.

"Yep, you sure did. See, wasn't that better than using ninjutsu?" Naruto asked her.

After gathering some wood Tsunade did a few hand seals, but before she could finish it Naruto grabbed her hands.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked her.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm making the fire so we can cook it later."

"Have you forgotten? You agreed to make this a camping trip, you can't use anything you learned from being a shinobi today."

Tsunade crossed her arms just like a little child, "Then how the are we going to cook the fish."

"Ahh Tsunade you really need to expand your skills more," Naruto said.

He grabbed her hands, "Come, we'll look for some wood."

As they were walking through the woods Tsunade was confused.

"What are you waiting for? Can't you see all these trees surrounding us?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto laughed, "Yes, you're correct. But, you have to get the right piece of wood to use. Without ninjutsu we can't use this type of wood cause it's wet."

After 10 minutes he picked up a few pieces of dry wood, "Ahh, see these are perfect. Let's look for some more before we head back. Think you can find some of these by yourself?"

Tsunade nodded, "Sure, that's easy enough."

"Okay, I'll go and look for some wood elsewhere. Meet back at the camp in 30 minutes."

It took her a while to gather enough wood, but she was getting better and better as the time went by.

She went back to where they caught the fish and Naruto was already there with some wood.

"You're back and you've collected more than enough," Naruto said.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Tsunade asked raising one of her eyebrows while giving Naruto a smirk.

"I'm not surprised. You are a sannin after all."

"Okay, what do we do now?" she asked in great interest. Naruto could tell that she was anxious to know and he was happy to see her like this.

Naruto took out a long piece of rod shape wood and another piece of wood the shape of a small block.

"Watch me," he said. He placed the small block of wood on the ground and placed some dry leaves on top of it. He then started to spin the rod shape wood into the other one very fast. Tsunade looked at him very skeptically. _This can never work._ But, after 5 minutes she was surprised to see a small flame.

"See, easy as that," Naruto said and he killed the fire.

"Why did you do that for? We had a fire going," Tsunade said.

Naruto grinned. "You're going to make the fire," and he handed her the small piece of rod shaped wood.

She took it and began doing what Naruto did, but after 15 minutes she could only see small puffs of smoke.

"I don't get it. It's not working this time," she commented. She tried for another 30 minutes before quitting. Her hands were starting to cramp from spinning the stupid stick.

"What am I doing wrong?" she asked Naruto.

Naruto cupped her hands and felt the blood pulsing through it, "Ahh, I see." After a few moments he added, "You're spinning it wrong. You have to press down also."

"What!? Why didn't you say that in the first place? I've been wasting all this time," she sounded a little angry.

"I wanted you to figure it out yourself. Try it now," Naruto told her.

She grabbed the rod shape wood and started doing it again, this time pressing down also. To her surprise it took her less than 2 minutes before a fire lit up.

"Ha, I did it in less time than you," she said mockingly.

Naruto smiled knowing that Tsunade was enjoying herself, "Well, it's because it was already warmed it up in the first place."

"Don't make excuses I beat you."

"Well, technically it took you more than 30 minutes," Naruto reminded her.

"Yeah, only cause you didn't tell me the right way. If you did I would've done it in 2 minutes."

"If you say so," and he was still smiling.

"Yes, I'm glad you see that I'm right."

--

It was nighttime and they had returned to the cave.

"Well, today was a big waste of time. Shouldn't have agreed with you today," Tsunade commented.

"No, it wasn't. You learned a lot of things. You learned how to make a fire. You learned how to catch a fish. You learned how to pick the right piece of wood to make a fire," Naruto said.

"I could have done all those things with ninjutsu anyways."

"It was fun though right?" Naruto looked at her as he asked his question.

"It was alright," Tsunade said.

"Don't lie, I could tell you were happy when you made that fire," Naruto commented.

"Okay, it was fun," she admitted. "But, it still doesn't change the fact that it was a waste of time."

Naruto laughed. He remembered saying the exact same thing when Jiraiya took him for his first camping trip. It was when he was training under Jiraiya for 3 years preparing for Akatsuki.

"What's so funny?" Tsunade asked.

"Nothing. Anyways, it's about having fun. You have to enjoy life sometimes. It can't just be all about being a shinobi. Plus, what were we going to do today? We were both still exhausted right?"

"I guess you're right," Tsunade said.

They sat in silence for a while before Tsunade spoke up.

She was staring at Naruto and she could tell that a lot was going through his mind, "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing," Naruto answered. But, in reality he was thinking about his friends. Even though he enjoyed being with Sakumo, Nyoko, his team, the young Jiraiya, and the young Tsunade, the fact was he was getting homesick. He missed the rookie 9, team Gain, Konohamaru and Corps, the Sand siblings, the ramen shop, and the old Tsunade and the old Jiraiya. It was frustrating because he knew he could never really be close with his new friends because he had to keep his past a secret.

"Come on you can tell me. You're always giving me advice maybe I can give some back in return."

"No, it's nothing, really."

"It's about your past isn't it?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto made a slight hesitation before answering, "No, it's not that. Well, it's getting dark, I think I'll go to sleep."

Tsunade frowned. It was barely 9, but she didn't press the matter any further and decided to go to sleep also.

While Tsunade was asleep Naruto was still thinking about his past. It was already 1 am, but somehow he couldn't go to sleep. He sat up and saw that Tsunade was asleep facing the fire while using both of her hands as a pillow. _She looks so innocent, _Naruto chuckled to himself, but he knew better. He had to get his mind of his old friends so he thought about the day. It was nice and he knew that Tsunade enjoyed it. Making a mental note, he decided that he would force the old Tsunade to go if he ever make it back home. Still looking at the young Tsunade he had to admit she was very attractive. As soon as he thought that he quickly put it out of his mind. _My god Naruto what the hell are you thinking. She's Tsunade for crying out loud. _He thought back to the 'date' and the current situation that they were in. _But is she? I mean, she's technically Tsunade that's for sure, but she's also very different. _The fact was he really liked being around her. She wasn't shy like Hinata. He really didn't like shy girls cause the conversation was always short and sometimes dull because he would be the only one talking. But, she also wasn't loud like Sakura or Ino. That was one of the reasons he stopped dating Sakura. She really like to make a scene wherever they went and she didn't know when to be quiet. He knew that he was a little like that too... okay maybe not a little, but sometimes 2 people is just too much. Tsunade was sort of in the middle. She could hold a conversation, but she also didn't completely leave you out. Thinking about the the times he had with the young Tsunade had taken his mind of his old friends. Looking down at her he smiled and placed his cool orange jacket on her.

--

They woke up the next day and were starting to leave when Tsunade spoke up, "Your little friends told me what you did 2 nights ago."

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"Your summons. They told me you stayed up 3 days, without food, water, or sleep. You've made an amazing antidote and you were able to stop the poison in me from circulating."

Naruto rubbed his neck and not wanting to boast he said in a throwaway voice, "Yeah, I guess that's what I did."

"I'm just curious, but why?"

"Hmmm… what do you mean?" he asked.

"Why did you risk your life on such a low possibility? We barely know each other."

"I could ask you the same question."

"Huh?" Tsunade asked confused.

"Why didn't you leave me and kill Hideo?"

"Yea, but that was different. You purposely inject the poison into yourself."

Naruto shook his head, "No, it's the same. You blocked his attack knowing it would probably kill you."

"It just happened naturally. My body just moved by itself," Tsunade said.

"Yes, and so did mine. Shall we get back to Konoha then?"

"One more question before we go."

"Sure."

"Who taught you that antidote? I've never heard of it before."

Naruto laughed, "One of the best antidote makers in the world. She's very talented. I would say without a doubt that she's the best antidote maker in the world."

He went over to where the rest of the remaining antidote was.

"Do you have a scroll?" He asked her.

"Yes, but why?"

"You want to look at this antidote right? I'm not really an antidote analyzer. Maybe you can find some use for this antidote. The ingredients are rare and it only lasts for about 30 minutes, but maybe you can figure out something else that she didn't. I don't know how it works or anything. The only thing that I learned from her was how to make it. She was the potion creator."

Tsunade eyed him curiously, "You're willing to just give me this antidote?"

"Sure, why not? If it helps save more people then I think my sensei wouldn't mind?"

Tsunade took out a scroll and wrote down a few symbols before doing a few hand seals. The rest of the antidote in the bowl disappeared as she finished making her hand seals.

After a moment of silence Tsunade asked, "And?"

"And what?"

"What's her name? I want to meet her. An antidote like this could change the war in our favor. It might help me more if I meet her."

"Sorry, I can't…" but he was interrupted.

"Tell me her name or show me where she's at," Tsunade said menacingly.

"Yes, I'm very sorry Tsunade."

"What am I to you Naruto?" Tsunade asked suddenly.

_Hmm? What a weird question_, Naruto thought. "What do you mean?"

"When I asked the frog why you saved me, the frog said that it's because I'm like your… but, he was interrupted by his older brother. So… I'm like your what?" she raised her eyebrows.

Naruto cursed Gamatatsu silently in his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about. You're like my teammate I guess," he answered in a throwaway manner.

"It seemed more important than that," Tsunade replied and she could sense that she was backing Naruto into a corner, like a prey.

"Ahh, you know these summons. They like to talk a lot of nonsense."

"Yeah, it seemed like a very important 'nonsense.'"

"I guess, but we should be getting back to Konoha right now. Sarutobi-sensei and the rest would be waiting for us," Naruto said, trying to change the topic out of these hot waters.

"We've been here a few days. A few more minutes wouldn't matter. Tell me what he meant Naruto," she was standing in front of the only way out.

Naruto knew that she wouldn't move until she received an answer.

He looked down, not able to look into her eyes and said in his most sincere voice, "I'm sorry Tsunade, but I can't. Please accept this as my final answer. I won't lie. Yes, Gamatatsu did let something very important slip, but please believe me when I say that I would tell you if I could."

Tsunade was so surprise at his sincerity that she didn't know how to respond, "You really can't tell me anything then?"

Naruto shook his head slightly, "Sorry."

"Let's get back to Konoha," Tsunade said abruptly and Naruto knew that he had hurt her.

They traveled back to Konoha a little faster than usual. Naruto could tell that this might cause their weak friendship to never repair itself. _It does not matter. She can't know the truth no matter what_, he thought to himself as they travel home.

They finally reached the Hokage Tower. Even though they walked in together, neither of them spoke a word.

"Tsunade, Naruto. Where have you 2 been? I've had 5 search parties searching for you 2 for the last 4 nights," Sarutobi said as they walked in.

"We were on a mission. Remember the mission you gave me about a traitor," Tsunade answered. Her voice was monotone, almost robotic and very unlike her usual voice.

"Is something wrong Tsunade? You sound different," Sarutobi said.

"Nothing's wrong sensei. I'm just here to give the report. It was Hideo who was the traitor. But, he was controlled by another shinobi, most likely it was Seiji. I was injured during the encounter and Naruto here made an antidote for me, which saved my life. Hideo is no longer with us."

"Tell me what's wrong Tsunade," Sarutobi insisted.

Tsunade looked at him, "Oh, nothing. Everything's fine. Mission accomplish, we know who the traitor was. May I go now?"

Sarutobi knew not to press any further, "Yes, you may leave."

She left without looking at Naruto.

"What happened between you 2?" Sarutobi asked.

He waited until he felt Tsunade's presence leave, "She hates me."

"Why?"

"Cause I won't tell her about my past."

"Oh, I see. Well, I see why she's mad."

"But, you know that I can't tell her anything. You know what would happen. Why can't she just accept it?"

From looking at Naruto he could tell that Naruto just didn't understand, "It's not fair for her Naruto."

"What do you mean?"

"You get to know her and she doesn't get to know you. It isn't fair. I can see why she's mad."

"But, you know that she can't know."

"Yes, I agree, but it still doesn't change the fact that she's mad at you."

"What do I do then?"

Sarutobi turned around and gave Naruto a piercing stare, "You're asking me for advice?"

Then he let out a loud laugh, "I'm sorry Naruto, but I'm a Hokage not a psychiatrist. If that's all then you may go."

But Naruto didn't leave.

"Is there something else you want to say?" Sarutobi asked.

"Yes. After seeing Tsunade almost die I started thinking to myself. I remembered the very first time I cried for someone else and that was when you died."

Sarutobi looked at him curiously, but before he could say anything Naruto quickly added, "Sarutobi, you will be kill by your student, Orochimaru, when you're 68."

There was a few moment of silence before Sarutobi spoke up, "Look Naruto, you're a future Hokage and you should know that you shouldn't have said that. Because of that information, things might occur differently now."

"Yeah, well, things should be different. You should be alive during my time and Orochimaru should be dead long before I'm even born. You didn't see it, but it wasn't only you that died, hundreds of shinobis died that day."

"Naruto listen to me. While he might do those terrible things in your time, he's very valuable to the Hidden Village of Leaf right now. And, what makes you say he might do the same thing."

Naruto walked up and stared at Sarutobi straight in the face a few inches away. Then he said very quietly, "Do you really believe that Sarutobi? Deep in your heart you know what that what I say is true. You've seen it, haven't you? His ambition, his desire for power, the menace. I know that you have."

Sarutobi looked away, knowing what Naruto said was true. He has seen it his whole life, but just avoid it. Now that Naruto has confronted him about it, it was as clear as day, "It doesn't matter Naruto. We need him. He's a very strong shinobi."

It was another moment of silence before Sarutobi spoke up again, "Naruto, you say that you come from a time of peace right?"

"Yes, and?"

"Well, it was probably you who got all the nations together, am I correct?"

Naruto nodded.

"If I survive things might end up differently and you might not get to become Hokage."

"The Hokage title for your life. I'll gladly exchange that," Naruto responded loudly.

Sarutobi smiled. _This is exactly why 'you' were chosen to become Hokage Naruto_, he thought to himself.

"That's not the point. It was you who pulled them together and if you're not Hokage it might turn out differently. Peace, and I mean real peace of all the nations, is and will always be my dream. I would gladly give my life for all the nations to become one."

"You can do that if you're alive. You can see your dream then."

Sarutobi shook his head, "We can never be too certain. The other Kages might not see me as a leader like they see you."

It was another moment of silence.

"Now that you know how foolish it was to tell me that it's time you erase that memory you just gave me."

"No way," Naruto immediately replied.

"I'm commanding you Naruto, as the Hokage."

"Hokage my ass. I'm the future Hokage and I say you keep that memory in your head," he turned around and stormed out the door before Sarutobi could stop him.

--

Tsunade was taking a shower. She was having an argument with herself.

_He risks his life for me, but he won't even tell me anything about his past?_

But then she thought, _Well, he does have the right to have secrets._

_But, I've revealed a lot of my past to him. He never told me anything about his. That's so unfair._

_Well, he never forced you too. You just told him. Why are you so interested anyways?_

_I'm just interested that's all. It's nothing really._

_Are you sure?_

_Yes, I'm sure._

After taking a shower she threw her dirty clothes in a basket, but before it landed a scroll popped out of one of the pockets.

In the midst of her anger she had completely forgotten about the antidote. She went to the living room with the scroll and placed it on the table. She also went to her cabinets and took out her analyzer.

Sitting on her couch she dropped 3 drops onto the antidote solution. After 5 minutes the solution separated into 3 entities.

She looked at the first solution, "Hmmm… a flower the blooms every full moon and survives for only a week. As long as it was the right time, this isn't that rare."

Then she looked at the next ingredient, "A white tooth from a white tiger. Well, that's not a common site."

Finally she looked at the last ingredient and dropped the scroll, "No way. A completely pink slug that lives 200 feet under fresh waters." She had heard of this rare slug, but thought that it was just a myth. "How did he manage to get it?" Analyzing the contents closer she was even more surprised, "It had to be alive?"

She closed her eyes. _There was probably less than a 1 chance of getting all of the ingredients. Why would he risk his life, but refuse to answer a simple question about his past?_

She thought about it hard for 30 minutes and could only come up with one answer. Whatever he was hiding must be REAL big. And she was going to get to the bottom of it whether he likes it or not. There was only one place to begin since she didn't know anything about him and with that she started to formulate a plan.

_No jutsus this chapter_


	12. Ch 12:Hokage

7/25/2008

Hi guys and girls. Sorry, haven't updated for a while. A few reasons:

1. Job

2. I had the story all worked out, but the manga went in a very different direction. I don't know if I should finish it cause it will be very different. Hope that you guys don't care if it's 'close to canon.' It you guess don't care then I'll probably finish it.

Well, here's Chapter 12.

**Chapter 12:Hokage**

It was sunset and Naruto was sitting on Sarutobi's mountain head. He was still fuming at Sarutobi for suggesting that he erase the conversation that they had. He heard a few footsteps behind him and turned around.

"What is it old man?"

Sarutobi noticed the change of names, but decided to let it go, "Mind if I sit down?"

"Go ahead."

He took a seat by Naruto and there was a moment of silence before Sarutobi spoke up, "I was looking all over for you today."

"Yeah, well, I was masking my presence," by his voice Sarutobi could tell Naruto was still angry.

"So this is where you come when you need time to think."

"It's usually not this head that I sit on. It's usually the 4th or 5th, but seeing as they're not here I decided to sit on you."

"For me, my thinking spot is on top of the academy."

"Yeah, I know that already. You didn't come for this small talk old man. Spit out what you want to say," Naruto said in a commanding voice.

Sarutobi laughed, "You don't want to chat? Okay, I've come to tell you to remove that memory."

"I told you already that you can keep it."

"Well, if you won't remove it I'll get someone else to do it."

"Go ahead, I'll just tell you again," Naruto replied harshly.

"You know what will happen if we keep on erasing my memory. I might lose more than just that memory. I might lose my whole past. Also, it would be better if it was you because you know the exact time and place where that memory took place."

"Tough luck."

Sarutobi sighed, "Alright fine. I knew it would come to this, but since you won't budge from your position lets make a deal."

When Naruto didn't speak Sarutobi continued, "If you win I'll keep the memory you just gave me. If you don't win then you have to erase the memory and promise never to mention it again."

"What's the competition?" Naruto asked, already knowing what Sarutobi was going to say.

"We fight. No holding back. Well?" Sarutobi was grinning.

Naruto couldn't lie to himself. Ever since he came back in time Sarutobi was the only person who he really wanted to fight. He knew Sarutobi was called 'The God of Shinobi' and wanted to know first hand just how strong Sarutobi was in his prime.

"You've been waiting for this haven't you? I won't lie to you Naruto, I have also been waiting for this ever since you came here. I would often wonder if my successors are up to my expectations and every since you came I have always wanted to see for myself. So do you want to see first hand why I'm considered 'The God of Shinobi?'"

"Nicknames are overrated," Naruto said.

Sarutobi laughed, "Of course I agree. It's stupid to fear someone because of their name." He repeated his question, "So, are you up to the challenge?"

Naruto's heart was thumping and a weird feeling rushed through his body. Was it excitement? "Fine, let's do this. Let's go to my house. I need my equipment."

"Okay."

When they got there Sarutobi stayed outside to wait for Naruto.

"Quite confident aren't you. You don't even have your equipment?" Naruto asked noticing that Sarutobi was still in his white Hokage uniform.

"Oh no, of course not," Sarutobi chuckled. "I'm wearing it underneath."

"You were prepared before you even talked to me then."

Sarutobi nodded and smiled, "Like I said. I knew it would come to this."

"Okay, you lead the way then," Naruto told him.

--

Arashi was sure that it was his sensei's chakra that he felt, but he wasn't 100 certain because the chakra that he felt was so brief. He and his team have been wondering where Naruto have been for the past 5 days.

He opened his door and looked outside to see 2 figures in the distance. One of the figures was wearing the trademark orange jacket. Arashi looked at the other figure and it took him a second before he realized that it was the Hokage.

_Why is sensei with the Hokage? The Hokage usually doesn't visit people unless it's something real serious. Is he in trouble?_ Arashi thought. _No, I refuse to believe sensei would do anything like that._

Making his decision he ran to Kioko's house and knocked on the door. Luckily it was Kioko who opened the door.

"What's up Arashi?"

She looked at him and could tell that he was out of breath from running.

"Sensei's back, but I think he's in trouble. He's with the Hokage. Come on, we have to see what's going on."

Kioko nodded, "Let's go and get Seishin."

They were all traveling together with Arashi in the lead.

"Okay, what happened?" Seishin asked him.

"Well, I saw sensei in the distance with the Hokage. They took off in that direction," he pointed to the woods.

"Why are you worried? He's with the Hokage, nothing can happen to him," Seishin said.

"That's the problem. Why was he with the Hokage by himself? I think that he might be in trouble," Arashi said.

"You mean he might have committed a crime?" Kioko asked.

"No, I don't think that he would, but let's go and check it out," Arashi replied.

Just then Seishin stopped.

"What's wrong?" Arashi asked.

"Well, if Naruto-sensei did commit a crime then what we can do," Seishin ask. "I mean, we can't really do anything."

"Well, if you're not going to go with me then you can stay here," Arashi said a little angrily.

"I was just asking questions, sheesh. Of course I want to go," Seishin replied and they continued going in the same direction as Naruto and Sarutobi.

--

Naruto followed Sarutobi for what seemed to be an hour. It was already dark, but Naruto knew why Sarutobi was taking him so far. It was so that there wouldn't be any interference from other shinobis.

They reached a place with a clear opening that was surrounded by quite a few trees. It also had a huge lake to one side.

Sarutobi took of his Hokage coat and he was wearing a fish-net undershirt covered by a dark blue long sleeve shirt. He had on a purple pants that went down to his ankles and he was also wearing the typical blue sandals.

"So should we get started then," Sarutobi said.

--

Arashi, Kioko, and Seishin were behind a tree looking at their sensei and the Hokage. They were out of breath from following Naruto and Sarutobi.

"That was a long journey. What should we do? It looks like they're going to fight. The Hokage took off his uniform," Kioko said.

"We really can't do anything. We're not strong enough," Seishin answered while still taking deep breaths.

"It looks like they're going to fight," Arashi said.

"But, Naruto-sensei's fighting against the 'Hokage,'" Kioko said putting an emphasis on Hokage. She continued, "If sensei attacks the Hokage, he'll be in real deep trouble. No one can attack the Hokage or they'll be considered a traitor and be hunted down by all of ANBU until they're caught, everyone knows that."

"Yeah we know, but it does look like they're going to fight," Seishin said looking at the 2 figures.

"But sensei will be killed then," Kioko said in a worried voice. "Sensei is fighting against the Hokage," Kioko interjected.

"Should we stop it?" Arashi asked worriedly.

"We can't. We're just genins," Kioko said reasonably.

"But, sensei will die if he fights. We can't let that happen," Arashi retorted. He hated the feeling of being powerless and not being able to help the people he cared about.

"We'll watch and see what happens. If it looks like sensei's going to die, we'll jump in," Kioko said.

"Jump in and fight the Hokage? That's the dumbest thing I've heard coming from you," Seishin said.

"We're not going to fight the Hokage, we'll just stop him from killing sensei. The Hokage's a nice person. He'll listen to us and maybe we can listen to what sensei has to say," Kioko said.

"Yeah, the Hokage will listen to some genins," Seishin said unconvincingly.

"Yes, he will," Kioko replied.

"Shh, it looks like they're going to start," Arashi said.

--

"You ready?" Sarutobi asked.

"Ready when you are," Naruto answered.

Sarutobi did some of the fastest hand seals that Naruto have seen and suddenly Sarutobi was engulfed in a mini tornado. Hundreds of kunais were launch at Naruto. He quickly took out his kunai to block them, but the velocity of the kunais' was too fast and a few struck him. _I see, he used the tornado to increase the velocity of his kunai._

Just as he was thinking this Sarutobi appeared behind him and kicked the side of his head which sent him flying 20 feet into the lake.

Naruto shook his head as he got out of the water. It has been a long time since he fought someone this strong. He was caught a little off guard.

"You're taking me too light," Sarutobi commented. "I'm not the same as my students."

Naruto stood up, "Yes, I've noticed."

Naruto crossed his fingers, "Kage Bunshin," 100 clones appeared and they started to charge at Sarutobi.

_Straight on? Has the shinobis from the future fallen that quickly? He's just wasting chakra._

One clone tried to punch Sarutobi, but he grabbed it and slammed him to the ground. As he was slamming the clone another one tried to jump on top of him, but he managed to kick it in midair before it can do anything. The other shinobis surrounded Sarutobi and they all did the same hand seals "Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu (Dragon Fire Technique)."

Hundred of fireballs were sent to Sarutobi, but before it hit him Sarutobi did a few hand seals "Suiton Shouheki (Water Barrier)" and water rose from the lake and surrounded him, blocking all of the fireballs. _Something's wrong_, Sarutobi thought.

Naruto did a few hand seals, "Suiton Wana: (Water trap)," and the water that was surrounding Sarutobi engulfed him. Sarutobi tried to move, but he couldn't because there was simply too much chakra in the water. He saw Naruto do a few more hand seals and saw that electricity was circling around Naruto's body. Sarutobi already knew what was going to happen, _Oh shit, this is going to hurt_.

Naruto concentrated all of the electricity into his hands, walked up to Sarutobi that was still trapped in the water and grabbed his shirt.

It was pain beyond anything Sarutobi felt before. Every bone in his body felt like it wanted to rip apart from the muscle that it was attached too. He felt his skin burn as Naruto held on. Finally all of the water disappeared and Naruto released his hold.

Sarutobi dropped to the floor and started to twitch.

"It seems like I wasn't the one underestimating my opponent. Even though you live in a time of war, I've been through some rough times also. You've clearly underestimated me," Naruto said calmly.

--

Kioko had her hands over her mouth, "Oh my god. Did you see what sensei just did? Sensei just killed the Hokage."

"Oh man, sensei's in deep shit now," Seishin said and he looked over to Arashi, "What do we do? I thought sensei would be the one losing."

It was a moment before Arashi spoke up. He couldn't believe it himself, "We have to stop sensei from killing the Hokage."

"How?" Kioko asked.

"We're going to fight sensei? Sensei will kill us easily," Seishin said.

"No, sensei will listen to us. Sensei won't hurt us," Arashi said.

"But didn't you see what sensei just did?" Seishin asked.

Arashi still didn't quite understand what just happened, "Kioko did you know what happened? I thought that the water surrounding the Hokage was his jutsu. Why did it back-fire on him?"

Kioko thought for a moment and it clicked, "Sensei already had some of his chakra in the water before the Hokage was using it. Sensei purposely got hit into the water. While he was in the water he put some of his chakra into it. After that, he made a lot of clones to shoot fire at the Hokage. Sensei knew that it would be hard to block that many fireballs and thought that the Hokage would probably use the water as a defense, which he did. The moment that the Hokage used the water he was trapped."

Arashi was amazed. He had never thought that a shinobi had to do this much analyzation in their fighting.

"Why go through all those steps? Why couldn't sensei have just used the water jutsu to engulf the Hokage? Therefore, sensei wouldn't need to have gotten hit to set it all up,"  
Seishin said.

Kioko shook her head, "It'll be too hard to just use the water directly. When you're fighting someone of this strong a direct attack will not work. He had to wait until the right moment."

Arashi interrupted the conversation, "Let's persuade sensei from killing the Hokage."

He was just about to jump out of the hiding spot when Kioko held his hands.

"What?" Arashi asked.

"The Hokage is getting up. Let's wait," Kioko said.

--

Tsunade was walking to her sensei's office. She was glad to see the ANBU standing in front of the door, which means that Sarutobi was not in. Her plan was very simple. She knew that Sarutobi trusted Naruto so it means that he must have some information on Naruto. This was her only lead.

"Hello Tsunade," the ANBU said.

"Hi. Is Sarutobi in? I've forgotten some information on my report and just wanted to tell him."

"He's not in right now."

"Is it okay if I just write my report for him then?"

The ANBU shifted uncomfortably, but nodded.

"Thanks."

As she walked in she knew that the only reason why the ANBU let her in was because she was a sannin. She sat down on Sarutobi's chair and opened his drawers. There were hundred of personal files listed in alphabetically order. _What was his last name?_ she thought to herself. Tsunade thought and thought, _Come on I know that someone mentioned his last name before. What was it? Ahhh yes, the meeting. Sensei mentioned it._

She flipped the files to the 'T' section and flipped through the portfolios. After not finding Naruto's name in the 'T' section she doubled checked just in case. After the 3rd time she finally had to accept that Naruto's file wasn't there. She leaned back on the chair in disappointment. Tsunade was so sure that she would have found something about him in Sarutobi's office.

Knock, knock.

Tsunade quickly jumped off the chair.

"Are you okay Tsunade? You've been in for quite a while now," the ANBU said.

"I'm fine. This is a long report," Tsunade answered back panting a little harder than usual.

--

Sarutobi stood up. He was still twitching a little, "Well, that woke me up."

"You're taking me too lightly," Naruto said again.

Sarutobi chuckled, "Sorry if I offended you. It's just that I haven't been in a fight like this for some time."

Sarutobi threw a few kunais with explosive tags at Naruto, but he managed to dodge it. The kunais hit a tree and with a loud boom it fell in front of Naruto blocking Sarutobi from his sight. _I see, he was aiming for the tree_, Naruto thought. Suddenly Sarutobi jumped from behind the tree, did a few hand seals and a huge water dragon rose from the lake.

_Zabuza's technique._ Looks like Sarutobi could use other village's jutsus pretty well, Naruto thought as he dodged the dragons.

_Just as I expected. He moves a lot like Jiraiya whenever he's attacking, but whenever he dodges it resembles Tsunade more_, Sarutobi thought to himself.

Naruto saw Sarutobi do some more hand seals and 3 huge fireballs was coming towards him. Naruto managed to quickly do some hand seals and a huge wall blocked him from the fireballs just in time.

They continued fighting for 15 minutes with Naruto having a slight advantage.

Naruto was panting as he put up a defensive jutsu to block one of Sarutobi's ninjutsu. _He's been attacking me head on for the last 15 minutes. What is he doing? I know he's not just doing this for recklessly. But from the looks of it, it really seems like he's just attacking_. Naruto dodged Sarutobi's punch and put some distance between them. _So far I've been able to connect 5 hard jutsu on him. While they weren't clean hits, they should have still done some damage. He hasn't touch me yet, but despite this fact I feel like I'm losing this fight._

Just then another jutsu came from Sarutobi. Again Naruto put up a metal barrier just in time to protect himself. _My chakra is running low, but his reserves should be low also. Even though I was able to land more hits, he's been the one on the offensive. If we have the same chakra capacity his chakra should be lower than mine because if 2 jutsus are the same rank the offensive jutsu usually takes more chakra than the defensive jutsu_. He looked at Sarutobi and was surprised to see that Sarutobi didn't seem tired at all. On the contrary he charged towards Naruto at a tremendous speed and gave a swift kick to Naruto's stomach before he could react. Naruto dropped to the floor on all fours in pain.

It took a few seconds before Naruto stood back up. As he stood up Sarutobi was already in his fighting position ready to fight. _Why doesn't he seem tired? Is he bluffing? No, it doesn't seem like he is. Does he have chakra than me? I can't believe it myself, but it seems like this might be the case._

"What's wrong Naruto? You're thinking too hard," Sarutobi commented.

_No, that can't be right. Even if he does have more chakra he should be a little exhausted_. Then the answer finally hit him.

Sarutobi did another jutsu and 5 bolts of electricity shot out of Sarutobi's hands, but this time Naruto didn't try to dodge it or put up a defense. The jutsu hit Naruto on the chest and he fell to the ground, but he quickly got up.

Naruto quickly dashed to Sarutobi's side before he could recover and raised 2 fingers, "Release." _I knew it. That's why he's not tired. He hasn't been using high ranking techniques, he's been using low ranking techniques all along. But, when…_ Naruto's eyed opened wider, _the moment he sent the tree down. He put a genjutsu on himself so that all of his jutsus would look like high level jutsus. He's been making me put up high ranking defense ninjutsus to block all his C and D rank jutsus when I could have used lower ones._

There was a grin on Sarutobi's face, "Ah, you've finally figured it out. But, you should know that it's too late now. You're running out of chakra already. Naruto, you're a real good student, perhaps a little too good. Tsunade taught you well."

Naruto gaped in surprise, "How do you know Tsunade taught me? I never remembered mentioning to you that Tsunade taught me. I only told you that Jiraiya taught me."

"Yes, of course, but I taught Tsunade and I know her style. The way you move when you dodge resembles her a lot. It's not exactly the same, but it's very similar. She was very exceptional in dodging, even when compared to Jiraiya or Orochimaru. Of course that has to do with being a medical shinobi."

"So you used my own abilities against me," Naruto replied.

"Yes, this genjutsu wouldn't have worked on anyone. As you know now, it only makes my ninjutsus look like they're high rank. It actually doesn't make them high rank. It would only work on a shinobi who never wanted to get hit and was exceptional at dodging like yourself. Your own skill was your downfall."

Naruto smiled, "But, since you don't have that up your sleeves right now I can still win."

"Are you sure you want to continue Naruto? There would be no shame in admitting defeat right now. I still have plenty of chakra left and I can see that you're running out."

"It's not over till it's over, old man." Naruto made a few hand seals, but before he could finish Sarutobi appeared in front of him and grabbed his throat with both hands.

"I should have known that was your answer. But, it doesn't surprise me. You are a Hokage after all," Sarutobi said as he tightened his grip on Naruto's neck. _So this is a Hokage from the future,_ Sarutobi thought_. I must admit I'm a little disappointed. You're good Naruto, no doubt about that. You're faster and stronger than all the shinobis in the village, but I expected a little more from you._

Naruto managed to kick Sarutobi in the gut causing him to release his hold.

Sarutobi looked at the panting Naruto, "You've lost Naruto. This is pointless now."

Naruto shook his head.

"Fine," Sarutobi said. He rushed towards Naruto and gave him a swift kick that sent him flying backwards 20 yards. As Naruto was skidding on the ground he laughed quietly to himself, _I should have known it would come to this. You are considered the strongest shinobi during this time. I guess I don't have a choice now. Sorry old man, but I have to use it to save you._

Sarutobi looked onwards as Naruto pushed himself back up. Then all of the sudden Naruto had disappeared. _What the?_

A voice came from behind him, "What's wrong old man?" But before Sarutobi could turn around he was punched in the ribs. He dropped to the floor and coughed out a pint of blood. Knowing that the ground was a bad place to be he did a couple of back flips to distance himself. When he looked up he could see that Naruto was still standing in the same location.

Sarutobi wiped the blood from his mouth. _What just happened? Was that his last desperate attack? If that's the case then he shouldn't be able to move that fast anymore._

He started doing some handseals, but before he could finish it Naruto appeared below him and gave him a hard kick to the chin which sent him flying upwards. Naruto followed up with an elbow to his lower back.

As they were dropping to the ground Naruto whispered behind Sarutobi, "I knew what you were thinking old man. You were thinking how a Hokage from the future didn't meet your expectations." Sarutobi's eyes widen and he could hear Naruto chuckle behind him. "That was the warm-up," Naruto said in a low voice. Sarutobi turned around to try and hit him, but missed and Naruto gave him a kick to the stomach finishing his combo.

As Sarutobi stood up he did a few handseals and blew 10 fireballs at Naruto. The fireballs extinguished before even hitting Naruto.

"You won't be able to damage me with a low level jutsu old man. You better pull out all your stops now because I intend for you to keep that memory," Naruto responded.

Sarutobi did some handseals and sent out a huge wave of water. He looked over to where Naruto was at and he saw a huge fireball the size of a house rushing towards the water. It immediately extinguished the water and engulfed Sarutobi. His skin burned as the fire engulfed him. Quickly he did a few handseals and the sand from the ground surrounded him extinguishing the flames. Sarutobi dropped to the floor. _He's showing the difference in our chakra usage in our techniques using fire jutsu to counter my water jutsu. Even though they were the same rank he clearly put more chakra into his jutsu. But, how… I don't sense a lot of chakra coming from him._

Sarutobi got up and rushed forward to attack, but just as he took a step Naruto appeared in front of him and gave him a punch to the face causing him to fly 50 yards.

Sarutobi was grabbing his face in pain as he slowly got up. _I can't beat him in long distance or close combat_. Sarutobi laughed to himself, _truly incredible_, _I can't even detect or see his movements_.

Naruto was slowly walking towards Sarutobi, "There's no use in fighting anymore Sarutobi. You can't even see me. Your jutsus are ineffective."

Sarutobi laughed, "You're right, but this is just starting to get fun. I never thought the day would come when I would use this jutsu against a single opponent, but Naruto you have impressed me and I'm apologize for thinking that you weren't strong. Are you ready then for round 2 then?"

Naruto got into his fighting stance, "Sure, do what you're going to do."

Sarutobi smiled, "If you say so."

--

Tsunade was still sitting on the chair thinking to herself. Then she looked down at last drawer which was labeled 'Forbidden Files.' Can it be in here? She reached the handle and pulled, but it was locked. Pulling a needle from her pocket she finally put it in the keyhole and after fiddling around with it for about 5 minutes she finally heard a click. She was about to open it, but stopped.

_What if sensei put some jutsu to trap the person who opens this drawer?_

Finally she decided that it was worth the risk. Closing her eyes she pulled the drawer open and nothing happened. There was a sigh of relief coming from her.

She flipped through the portfolios and finally saw a portfolio with the title 'Takahashi Naruto' right under a portfolio that had the title 'Missing Shinobis.'_ Now this is getting interesting, why sensei would have a whole file for Naruto in the forbidden files?_

Tsunade pulled out the portfolio with excitement. Now she was going to finally get the truth. The file only had one page even though it was in the forbidden files. Tsunade thought that this was quite odd. She opened it and started to read it.

Real name: Uzumaki Naruto

DOB: unknown

Blood type: B

Rank: jounin (present)

Special abilities/bloodline: ??

Team #: 3

Team names: Arashi, Seishin, and Kioko

Ability capabilities: unknown, but most likely above all jounins (facts are he beat 2 sannins at the same time. Also, he defeated one of the sannin again without much trouble).

Mission completed: 14 missions

1 S rank

1 A rank

12 C rank

Extra notes: Naruto has come from the future. Most likely 40 or so years from now considering he's the 6th Hokage. These missions account for only the missions that he has completed during this time period. He has confirmed to me that he was indeed from the future.

After finishing the contents she read it once more just to make sure what she was reading wasn't her imagination. _No way… there's just no way this is true._ But, she looked at the handwriting and she knew it was her sensei's handwriting. Her head felt like it was going to explode from the information she just received. _This just can't be true._

Before she could give it more thought she heard a loud "BOOOOOOM!!"

She quickly put the file back in the drawers and locked it.

She went outside and saw that the ANBU was getting up. Apparently he was knocked to the floor by the explosion.

"Are you alright?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, what was that?" the ANBU asked.

"I don't know, but you stay here. I'll go and check it out."

Quickly she went outside and saw that dozens of shinobis were also already going in the direction of the explosion.

She reached the location of where all of the shinobis were gathering. There were mutters and light whispers as she walked to the front.

"Calm down everyone," it was Sakumo who was talking. He looked at Jiraiya and Tsunade and knew that they also knew. This was Sarutobi's chakra.

"What happened? Is someone attacking?" An orange hair shinobi asked.

"Okay everyone, be quiet," Sakumo said and the crowd became silent. "Here's the plan. I and 3 other people will go and check out the scene. The rest of you stay here to protect the village in case of an attack. Got that?" Sakumo said. The group nodded.

"Jiraiya, Tsunade, Reiri, let's go," he said and they started traveling towards the direction where they felt the chakra. Sakumo was leading the group with the others following.

--

The 4 quickly jumped from tree to tree to where they felt the chakra.

"This is Hokage-sama's chakra," Reiri said.

They all nodded. All of them knew that they were thinking the same thing. _What could have caused Sarutobi to release this much chakra? It must be something real bad._


	13. Ch 13:Reminisce

8/6/08

Hi guys and girls. Good news, guess I'll finish this story because of the responses I've recieved last chapter (hope that's good news). This chapter was longer than most (but who's complaining right?). I would say I'm about almost 1/2 done with the story so far. Maybe a little less than halfway, but yeah it'll be a pretty long story. Also if this story goes well and people like it I might even do another one. But, we'll see about that. Anyways, hope you like this chapter.

**Chapter 13:Reminisce**

BOOOOOOM!!

"7th gate open," Sarutobi said and his skin started to turn a dead gray.

Naruto felt the chakra pressure that Sarutobi was emitting and it surprised him. It was becoming a lot more difficult for him to breath or stand. _Damn old man, you're really going all out huh? That's fine, I want it like that. I want you at your best._

Naruto smiled, "This is starting to get interesting."

Sarutobi returned the smile with a smirk, "Yes it is. I'm glad that I had the chance to use this jutsu against a single opponent."

Arashi dropped to his knees, "Seishin, Kioko, it's hard for me to breath." But as he turned around he saw that Seishin and Kioko were on the ground already and breathing hard. Moments later he dropped to the ground joining them.

--

Naruto rushed at Sarutobi with a flurry of punches and kicks, but this time Sarutobi had evade them all and tried to counter with a punch of his own, but missed.

"You can see it now and you're fast enough to block it," Naruto said.

"Of course. And you're fast enough to dodge the counter punch," Sarutobi replied.

Both of them kept their smiles on knowing that this would be one hell of a fight.

Sarutobi did a few handseals and a few fireballs flew at Naruto with great speed. Naruto managed to dodge most of them, but the last one hit him square in the chest and he flew back 10 yards. As he was skidding he did a backwards somersault and was up to his feet. But, as soon as he was up a few jets of water was flying at him. Naruto did a few handseals the ground came up and covered his body just in time before the jutsu hit him. More jutsus flew at Naruto. _Damn too many jutsus at once. No chance to launch an attack. Even though he's using low level jutsus he's putting a lot of chakra in it._ The advantage of a low level jutsu was that it required less handseals therefore letting a shinobi launch more attacks. Naruto also knew that the small jutsus were just setting him up for a higher ranking one. One mistake and he would eat a high level jutsu. Sort of like how a boxer throws jabs before their big punch. _Oh shit_, the moment that he jumped Naruto knew he had jumped a little too high when evading Sarutobi's lightning jutsus. He hoped Sarutobi didn't see it, but as he looked at Sarutobi's face he could tell that Sarutobi had also caught the mistake.

Sarutobi did some handseals and the earth underneath formed huge hand grabbing Naruto's body. More handseals and electricity burst from Sarutobi's 10 fingers hitting Naruto. He screamed as the lightning entered his body frying his insides. The hand holding Naruto had also crumbled as the justu hit him.

Naruto coughed and slowly stood up. He was hurt and tired, but he would not give up. Looking tired and dazed he crossed his fingers, "Kage Bunshin," and a clone popped into existence.

_Shadow clone again. What are you going to do now Naruto? Don't tell me you're going to do the same thing._

Naruto did a few handseals and blew a white flame at Sarutobi about the size of a basketball.

_Shit I better not get hit with this_, Sarutobi thought and he began jumping out of the way, but in the corner of his eyes he saw the clone also doing some handseals. The clone put his two forefingers and thumbs together making a triangle and Sarutobi could feel the wind charging into the white fireball. The fireball grew bigger and faster. Knowing that he was going to get hit there was only one option left. He did a few handseals and the ground came up to block the fireball, but it was instantly melted. Sarutobi managed to put up his forearms before the fireball could connect in a more vital spot. As he hit the ground he immediately rubbed his forearms on the ground to extinguish the flames. _He used his clone to mix 2 different types of elements. Impressive._ Sarutobi knew that it was harder than it looks. He knew that chakra manipulation had to be precise or else the elements would contest each other instead of help each other. That's why it's impossible for 2 people to mix different elements because their chakra signature is different. But, if a person is skilled enough they can mix different types of elements. Sarutobi could see the advantages of using a clone instead of just doing one jutsu after another. One, since both the person and the clone are doing handseals at the same time a person could combine high rank jutsus as Naruto just did. Since most high ranking jutsus takes more handseals it takes more time to perform those handseals and by the time a person is finished with the next hand seal the previous jutsu would have hit or missed its target. This wouldn't allow for the 2 jutsus to be mixed. That's why it's only possible to mix elements of low-level jutsus if you're not using a clone because it takes less handseals. Even then the person would have to be extremely quick in their handsealing technique. But, there were also disadvantages. One, to enable a clone to use jutsus the user must give them enough chakra to also do the jutsus. Most of the time clones were just use as distractions or to gather information. Two, if a clone is given chakra it cannot be taken back so when a clone disappears so does the chakra. It's a huge waste of chakra if the clone is hit. Long ago Sarutobi had also thought about using a clone to mix elements, but the advantages did not outweigh the advantages.

Thinking about the disadvantages Sarutobi knew what he had to do. He threw 10 shurikens at an angle which caused Naruto to jump to his right.

_Alright he and his clone are separated,_ Sarutobi thought as he rushed the clone. He was able to give the clone a swift kick to the midsection causing the clone to buckle over, but to his surprise the clone didn't disappear. Caught by surprise he received an uppercut by the clone that sent him in the air. As he was recovering he could sense Naruto preparing for another attack. Looking at the ground he saw Naruto preparing a lightning attack while the clone preparing a water attack. As the attack came Sarutobi hastily crossed his fingers and said, "Kage Bunshin." The clone barely managed to pull Sarutobi out of harms way as the jutsu whizzed right pass him.

_What the?_ The clone didn't disappear. _I'm sure I made a clean hit on that clone… unless that was the real Naruto_. He thought about the exchange to see if there was a moment where Naruto could have switched places with the clone. Sarutobi shook his head. _No, that definitely was the clone that I made contact with._

Sarutobi quickly threw some shurikens at Naruto who was about 20 yards away, but just as the shurikens were about to hit Naruto the ground rose up to defend the shurikens. As the ground retreated back Naruto had already finish his handseals, grabbed a kunai and made a slashing movement. Sarutobi barely noticed the change in the wind and moved his head just in time as he heard a whishing noise pass his ears. The tree behind him was cut into ribbons a second later. Naruto swung his kunai again, but this time Sarutobi was ready and he evade the wind slashes easily. Just as he landed he felt his feet sinking into the ground. _Shit I forgot about the stupid clone._ He looked over to Naruto and saw him slash his kunai once again. _No time to defend_, Sarutobi did the highest fire jutsu he knew and it hit the wind slashes straight on. He knew it was suicidal, but it was either that or eat the wind slashes head on. The blast blew Naruto and himself tumbling 30 yards. As he slowly got up he looked over to where Naruto was at and to his surprise not only was Naruto slowly getting up, but alsothe clone.

--

Sakumo, Reiri, T-sunade, and Jiraiya were jumping from branch to branch to where they felt the chakra when Jiraiya suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Reiri asked Jiraiya.

Jiraiya was looking ahead with a glazed look not moving.

"Jiraiya… what's wrong? You're scaring the shit out of me. I've never seen you like this before," Sakumo said in a concern voice.

"I know you're worried for your sensei, but I'm sure it'll take quite a few shinobis to take him down," Sakumo said.

Jiraiya just shook his head, "He's not fighting a few shinobis. He's fighting a shinobi."

"You're serious? I wonder how long the other shinobi would last if we can't even feel his chakra at this distance. I mean… we can feel the Hokage's chakra back at the village," Reiri said.

Jiraiya just shook his head again and pointed in the direction that he was looking at, "Do you guys see that?"

The 3 looked to where Jiraiya was looking and they didn't see a thing.

"You mean the trees?" Tsunade asked.

"No, someone's using senjutsu," Jiraiya said still pointing in the general direction. "That's why you can't feel his chakra at this distance."

"You mean nature manipulation?" Tsunade asked. She remember Jiraiya mentioning it to her once asking her if her summons knew anything about nature manipulation. At that time she thought that he was just pulling her leg because she had asked her summons and they didn't know anything about nature manipulation, but now he's saying that someone else is using nature manipulation... then it clicked… Naruto.

Tsunade moved from the branch so quickly that the others jumped.

"Tsunade?" Reiri asked, but Tsunade couldn't hear her. She was already jumping from branch to branch. The only thing on her mind was why Naruto and Sarutobi were fighting. _Maybe they're fighting against some enemy shinobis_, she thought. But her gut instincts told her that they were fighting each other.

The others caught up to Tsunade and Sakumo and Reiri tried to ask Tsunade some questions, but she just quickened her pace. Jiraiya didn't have any questions as he was still in deep thought,_ Who else knows about senjutsu training?_ He remembered asking Tsunade about it and she said that the slugs didn't know anything about senjutsu training. He had also asked his sensei and Sarutobi knew, but he also said that only the frogs could teach it and that it was extremely hard training. His sensei also told him that was the reason he was given the frog contract, because of his will to never give up._ I wouldn't even think twice of using it in battle yet even though I've been training in it for over 4 years now. The consequences could be severe if one doesn't do it correctly_. He remembered almost turning into a frog when he was practicing.

--

Sarutobi and Naruto and his clone were panting. They've been fighting at maximum for 15 minutes already and neither of them has given the other an edge. Both of them knew that the other was tired, but both also knew the consequences of losing.

Sarutobi rushed at Naruto and they exchanged flurries of punches and kicks. The clone jumped in to aid Naruto, but just as he did that Sarutobi's hair turned into spikes. Naruto jumped back out of the way, but as the clone was jumping in he couldn't evade Sarutobi's hair as it poked through him. _I forgot he has hair during this time period_. Naruto had always known Sarutobi being almost bald and the attack had surprised him. The clone made a low 'poof.'

Sarutobi wheezed showing that he was tired. _Goddamn I never thought that clone would ever disappear._

Naruto was panting, but still thinking carefully on how to win. _He finally got rid of my clone. Judging from his looks I know he's near his limits just as I am. But I should win. His body shouldn't be able to hold up much longer with that many gates open._ He remembered how even Gai couldn't stay in this state for long.

Sarutobi looked at Naruto and was impressed that Naruto was still thinking things through. Most shinobis would start attacking or lose their cool once exhaustion set in, but he could tell that it wouldn't happen to Naruto. While most shinobis thought keeping your cool during exhaustion was an easy task, task he knew that it was not.

Naruto cracked a smile. _All I have to do now is last longer than you old man._

Sarutobi laughed, "I know what you're thinking Naruto, but don't get ahead of yourself. You're thinking that since I opened the 7th gate all you have to do is outlast me because my body won't be able to take it."

Naruto blinked confused that Sarutobi had read his mind.

Sarutobi laughed again, "Don't think I'm that easy. Just like how you master the shadow clones I have master the gates. I can stay in this form as long as I want. It doesn't bother me at all." Naruto just stared at him and knew that he wasn't bluffing.

Just then they felt 4 chakras coming in their direction. Both of them knew the chakras that it belonged to.

"It finally looks like they're here," Naruto said.

Sarutobi nodded.

"You planned this didn't you old man. You knew you couldn't take me so you raised your chakra to a high level so that other people would come and stop the fight," Naruto said jokingly.

"Hey now, if you would have just lost I wouldn't have needed to do that," Sarutobi replied back in a joking manner.

"Well, I don't plan on this being inconclusive," said Naruto.

"Neither do I," answer Sarutobi. "Let's settle this. You better bring out your best jutsu Naruto."

"Okay, but before that," Naruto jumped to his team who was gasping for breath. "I'm so sorry team." Both he and Sarutobi had sensed them following, but both of them decided to let them see the battle. They both already knew that the kids will follow Naruto no matter what, even against the Hokage's order so trying to stop them would be a waste of time. During the whole fight both he and Sarutobi had avoided aiming jutsu in that general direction knowing that the children were there. He did a few seals and a yellow sphere surrounded his downed genin team. The yellow sphere made it so that the children couldn't move or be moved. It would also act as a protective barrier. Jumping back to Sarutobi he said, "Okay, let's get this started."

Naruto crossed his fingers and a clone pop into existence.

Sarutobi raised one of his eyebrows. _Surely he's joking_. But, then he saw the clone put his hands over Naruto's right hand.

Naruto gather chakra into his hands and a blue sphere appeared. The clone concentrated on adding the wind element into the Rasengan. The clouds started to spin and tornado surrounded Naruto. As the jutsu continued trees were being uprooted, branches were being snapped, and leaves were flying around Naruto at an insane speed.

Sarutobi knew that he would have to pull out his strongest jutsu also.

"I'm ready," Naruto said holding up the blue sphere with the wind surrounding him and increasing in velocity.

Sarutobi held his right wrist and concentrated. Suddenly a small fire appeared on his pinky, a water droplet appeared on his ring finger, a small rock appeared on his middle finger, lightning appeared on his forefinger, and finally a small vortex appeared on his thumb, all the size of a dime. Still in deep concentrated the 5 elements combined in the middle of his palm the size of a baseball constantly changing from fire, to water, to rock, to lightning, and to a small vortex.

"Whoa, I've never seen that before," Naruto said excitedly.

"Neither have I seen your jutsu," Sarutobi replied.

Both knew what to do next. They rushed at each other and slammed each of their jutsu against one another. A blinding white light emerged from the location as the 2 jutsus touch each other. Both of them were grinding their teeth as they pump more and more chakra into their jutsu. Both thinking the same thing,_ Damn his jutsu is just as strong as I thought_.

--

KABOOOOM!! This time the explosion was WAY bigger than the first. Tsunade, Jiraiya, Sakumo, and Reiri were blown back 20 yards as the explosion happened.

When they reached the battleground they saw a huge crater in the middle without a soul in site.

Sakumo spoke up, "Let's split up and search the nearby area. Come back and meet here in 10 minutes even if you don't find someone." As he said that the 4 of them went in different directions.

It took 5 minutes before Jiraiya saw his sensei's body on the ground. Jiraiya had estimated that they were at least 500 yards from the crater. He jumped near his sensei and checked his pulse. It was low, but still there. Letting out a sigh he put his sensei's arm behind his neck and started to carry him back to the crater.

He was the first one to reach the crater and no one was there, but he didn't have to wait long. In the distance he could see Tsunade carrying a person in a straddle position. The person was too far to make out any details, but Jiraiya was sure this was the person who had injured his sensei.

As Tsunade came closer Jiraiya looked at the body and was in shock, "Naruto!?"

Tsunade nodded.

Reiri was the next person to come back, but she didn't come back with a person. She was glad that Jiraiya had the Hokage, but as she looked at who Tsunade was carrying she was quite shock, but didn't show it. Instead she just said, "There are 3 children about 200 yards from here. We'll wait for Sakumo and we'll get the children also."

--

As Jiraiya and the rest of the group reached the gates of Konoha everyone gasped as they saw Sarutobi.

"Did someone kill the Hokage?" a bald shinobi asked.

"Sakumo, what happened? Tell us," a short hair girl asked.

Just as he was about to say something Nyoko accompanied by 3 other people: Shiba, Hizashi, and Tsume, jumped in front of the group..

"What the hell happened? I felt Sarutobi's chakra," she said as she landed on the ground.

She saw Tsunade and her eyes were surprised.

Just then Sakumo spoke up, "Look we can't explain right now. Sarutobi's in bad shape and so is Naruto. We have to get them to a hospital as fast as possible."

Everyone moved out of their way to let them pass. They reached the hospital in less than a minute and put each person on a stretcher.

Sakumo, Reiri, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Nyoko were all in the waiting room. It was a boring looking room. Plain white with a few plants here a there. A single clock hanging in the middle of the room.

After 5 minutes Tsunade spoke up, "Why the hell am I here? I should be helping."

Jiraiya held her wrist, "You can't."

"Why not?"

"I could sense that you are not 100. You might cause more problems. You're not in top shape right now," Jiraiya said.

Tsunade clenched her fist, angry that Jiraiya knew she was still weak. Sure, Naruto had given her the antidote, but it would take a little more time for it to fully heal her, "I can still help."

"No, Jiraiya's right Tsunade. I could sense that you're not 100 also," Sakumo said. With the both of them agreeing Tsunade didn't have a choice and sat down.

After 2 hours the shinobi medics came. The 5 of them raised their heads waiting for an answer.

The medic shinobi spoke up, "They're both fine. No major injuries. They would need to rest for a bit to heal their injuries and regain their chakra. The kids are up, but I gave them some medicine to go to sleep. They need the rest."

The 5 people gave a sigh of relief.

The medic knew this wasn't her place but she spoke up again, "Were they fighting?"

Tsunade nodded.

"Sorry if I'm asking a question that I shouldn't," she paused a bit before continuing, "but if they were fighting why should we help the other shinobi? I mean… for him to cause this much damage to the Hokage, who knows what would happen when he wakes up," she said with a hint of fear in her voice.

Tsunade gave her a cold glare, "Are you saying we should kill him… or let him die?"

She answered in a small voice, "I'm just thinking about Konoha's safety."

Tsunade replied suddenly and while she didn't sound angry everyone in the room knew she was, "Look, we'll ask him and Sarutobi what happened when they get up. If he's a traitor we'll kill him. It's not like he'll be able to defend himself well with those kind of injuries."

After a moment of silence Nyoko spoke up, "Tsunade, let's go outside I have to talk to you."

"You really don't think Naruto's a traitor do you?" Nyoko asked.

Tsunade just shook her head.

Suddenly Nyoko yelled completely changing the subject, "Where the hell have you been!? I've been searching for you and Naruto for 4 days. I even brought Shiba, Hizashi, and Tsume. I thought you guys were dead. And what the hell happened to Naruto and the Hokage? Why were they fighting if Naruto isn't a traitor?"

Tsunade sighed, "I'll answer your last question first. I don't know why they were fighting. As for your first question. We were on a mission."

"We…we… as in Naruto and you. I'm correct, right? I mean he was the only other person there with us," Nyoko said.

Tsunade nodded. Nyoko gave a giggle which Tsunade ignore.

"What happened to Jiraiya and Sakumo?"

"Well, Jiraiya was out cold and it took me a couple of hours to bring him around. Sakumo was already recovering because Reiri sensed that something was wrong with him so she took him to the hospital right away. What happened? I tried to follow after that, but I lost the scent."

"Hideo was being controlled by Seiji. That's how they were getting information from us."

"That still doesn't explain why you were gone for 5 days."

"Yeah, I'm getting to that. I was poisoned and Naruto saved my life again. We had to hide out in a cave for 5 days before returning to Konoha."

Nyoko was smiling, "You and him, in a cave for 5 days. That's so sweet, what did you guys do?"

"Shut-up, we didn't do anything."

"Give me the details. I demand details right now Tsunade," stomping one of her feet in a friendly and joking manner.

Tsunade's mind wasn't in the cave. Her mind was on what she had learned in her sensei's office. She just had to tell someone, anyone, before her head exploded, "Who cares about that. I've found out something even more important."

"There's something more important than Naruto and you in the cave for 5 days?" Nyoko asked unconvinced.

"Yes, be quiet and I'll tell you."

"Okay, go on," Nyoko said in a disbelieving tone. In her opinion there was nothing more important than her friend staying with a guy alone in a cave for 5 days.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone, okay?"

"Yeah, sure you know you don't have to tell me that."

"Okay, you know how Naruto's been keeping his past a secret?"

"Yeah, so? Everyone has secrets."

"Yes, but this is HUGE. Don't interrupt."

Nyoko nodded.

"The reason why he's been keeping his past a secret is because he's from the future."

Nyoko eyes widen and Tsunade was scared that it might actually pop out of her sockets. Then all of the sudden Nyoko was laughing very loud, "Hahahahahahahaha, you haven't told a joke in the longest time Tsunade. Do you really think this is the time? I mean, Naruto's on the stretcher. I have to admit though, that was a pretty lame joke, but still, nice try."

"I'm not lying," Tsunade was a little angry that Nyoko didn't take her seriously.

"Okay, okay, Naruto's from the future," she said skeptically and began laughing again.

"I'm serious Nyoko. Quit laughing or the others might hear us and come out here. I'm telling the truth."

Nyoko looked into her friend's eyes, "Oh my god, you're not lying. Either that or you do believe he's from the future."

Tsunade nodded.

"How did you find out?"

"I was looking through Sarutobi's forbidden files and saw his file. Takahashi isn't his real last name. It's Uzumaki. It also said that he is the 6th Hokage."

They were each lost in their own thoughts, "Hey, do you think that Arashi could be Naruto's father?"

"He could be… I mean they really look alike," Tsunade added.

"Yeah, I bet you anything that he is," Nyoko said. She laughed as she said this. "I wonder why Naruto doesn't punish Arashi just for the hell of it. That's what I would've done if I met my younger father. He would get spankings left and right."

It was a little while before either of them spoke, "Hey, do you think he knows you or I? I mean from the future?" Nyoko asked Tsunade.

"Maybe by name, but I don't think he knows us personally. We'll be pretty old when he's grown up. Let's assume Arashi is his father. Arashi's still pretty young. Let's say he has a kid early. That's 10 years from now. 5 years until he realizes anything so in all: 15 years minimum. I don't see him knowing any of us personally."

Nyoko slapped herself on the forehead, "Why didn't I see it before."

"What?"

"He knows you."

"How do you know?"

"Okay, you know that I beaten him in a spar right?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, _how could I forget? That was the reason why we went on a date in the first place._

"Well, when he was unclothed I saw your necklace. You must have given it to him in the future."

Tsunade grabbed her necklace. It just seemed unlikely that she would give it away, "Are you sure it was the same one?"

"I'm certain. How many necklaces look like that?"

A frog croaked by a nearby stream, _Stupid frogs, _Tsunade thought_. _Just then something came rushing back to Tsunade's mind.

"He considers me as his mother," Tsunade said softly in a low voice.

"What?"

"While we were in the cave his summons let something slip. He said that 'Naruto considers me as his' and he made a 'M' sound, but he was interrupted by his brother before he could finish his sentence. I'm certain that was what that stupid little frog was going to say."

Another memory just came back to Tsunade.

"The little frog also said, 'even though we just saved her life the slug-lady's still as mean as ever.' Why would he use 'slug-lady?' I've never seen him before in my life. Also, why would he use the word 'still' if we haven't met before."

"So you think he knows Jiraiya personally also?"

"Yeah, that explains why he has frog summons. He probably met me through Jiraiya or vice versa."

Everything was falling into place. When she read the report on Naruto she couldn't believe it herself, but now that she has thought about it, it made more and more sense.

It was a little while before Nyoko spoke up, "Well, this is a big problem."

"Why's that?" Tsunade asked.

"I mean... jumping from the 'friend zone' to the 'girlfriend zone' is pretty hard. Jumping from the 'mother zone' to the 'girlfriend zone' is like trying to jump out of a black hole."

"I don't like him in that way," Tsunade protested, but she could feel herself redden.

Nyoko had a finger on her chin, "Let's see, you broke into Sarutobi's forbidden file to get to know his past even though you know that you could be hanged for treason if someone found out. You were willing to you're your life just to get to know his past. It's so obvious. Plus, I can see it on your face right now."

Tsunade could tell she was blushing, "It wasn't that."

"What was it then?" Nyoko asked skeptically.

"When we were in the mountain he risked his life to save mine. He hid his past and I just had to find out why he would risk his life, but why wouldn't he tell me a thing about his past."

"It's still the same thing. You were interested," and Nyoko was still grinning from ear to ear.

It took 30 minutes before Nyoko could finally get Tsunade to admit that she liked him.

"See, doesn't that feel better?" Nyoko asked when Tsunade finally admitted. Nyoko was filled with joy. She was happy that her friend found someone she likes. But, there was also the 'other' problem. She didn't want her friend to be hurt. Even an optimistic person like Nyoko had to admit that the latter was more likely, considering the situation.

"Remember what I said. You can't tell anyone."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you like, 'what did he consider you again?'" And she gave a loud laugh.

"Be quiet. Not only that. You can't tell anyone that we know about his past."

"Sure, sure, let's go inside and join the others," said Nyoko still grinning.

They walked inside and saw that Jiraiya, Sakumo, and Reiri were still in the waiting room.

"Where did you girls go?" Reiri asked.

"Ahh, no where. We just had a little talk," Nyoko said.

"You guys took a while. Was it something important?" Sakumo asked.

"Nope. We just need some fresh air didn't we Nyoko?" When Nyoko didn't answer Tsunade elbowed her ribs, "Didn't we?"

"Oh yes, it was nothing important."

Just then the medic came out and said that they could visit the patients. The group split into 3 parties because the medic nurse said no more than 2 in a room. Sakumo and Reiri went to Sarutobi's room while Jiraiya went to see the children, leaving Tsunade and Nyoko visiting Naruto. After 30 minutes they all switch rooms seeing all 5 of the patients. An hour and 30 minutes later they decided it would be best to go home.

Nyoko grabbed Tsunade's wrist just as she was about to leave.

"What?" Tsunade asked.

"I have to make sure. Let's go back while the others are gone."

Tsunade agreed to it because she wanted proof, "Alright, let's go back inside."

They went to the room where Naruto was located. He was on the respirator breathing very slowly. The white bed sheets covered were pulled up to his neck.

"Well, we can see that he does indeed have a necklace," Nyoko whispered in Tsunade's ear. "Let's see if he has 'the necklace'."

Tsunade reached for the bed sheets and pulled it down to Naruto's chest and she saw it. It was the same necklace that she had. There was no doubt about it.

The sight of the necklace surprised her even though she was expecting it. She grabbed her necklace just to make sure that it was still there and it was.

"Well, that settles it," Nyoko whispered in her ears again.

Tsunade pulled the bed sheets back up and was just about to leave when she felt that Nyoko wasn't beside her. Looking back she saw that Nyoko was going through Naruto's pocket.

"What the hell are you doing Nyoko?" Tsunade whispered in her ears as she reached Nyoko.

"What does it look like I'm doing. I'm looking for his wallet. We might find out more things about him," Nyoko whispered.

"But, that's invading his privacy," Tsunade whispered.

"Look who's talking," Nyoko said. "Come on, don't you want to find out more. I know I certainly do. This is just way to interesting and weird. Besides, it's not like I'm going to steal anything."

"Got it," Nyoko said and she pulled out his wallet. "Yes!" she said in triumph, "Plus, it looks like he has lots of pictures."

"Well are you going to join me or not?" Nyoko asked Tsunade. She could that Tsunade was burning with curiousity, but at the same time relunctant to join her.

Finally Tsunade sat down and Nyoko slowly opened the wallet with trembling hands like it was some sort of fragile treasure.

The first picture was a young Naruto with 3 other people which was probably his teammates and sensei. There was a pink hair girl, a black hair boy, and a white hair man that had the forehead protector over one of his eyes.

"Hey, his sensei looks pretty cute," Nyoko said. "He looks way too laid back though for my taste. Maybe if he looked a little more serious."

"He also looks pretty familiar," Tsunade said, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Yeah, he looks like Sakumo and Reiri doesn't he?"

"Yes, that's who he looks like. Except that guy looks a little thinner and he's got Reiri's face."

Nyoko nodded.

The excitement of the first photo made Tsunade forget all about being morally wrong.

"Turn it," Tsunade said wanting to see the next picture.

"Well, well, after seeing the first picture looks like someone's interested," and Nyoko grinned.

Nyoko flipped the page and it now showed 18 people: the rookie 9, team gai, Konohamaru and corps, and the sand siblings.

"His friends. Yep, there he is. In the middle," Nyoko said.

"I wonder if he misses them?" Tsunade asked.

"What kind of question is that? Of course he does."

"Wow, he's friends with people from the hidden village of sand," Tsunade commented.

It took a little scanning before Nyoko also noticed the different forehead protectors on 3 people, "Yeah, that's weird isn't it? I don't have friends from other villages. It must be a time of real peace where he comes from."

Nyoko flipped the page and saw Naruto and an older Jiraiya standing together with 10 other girls. It was clear that Jiraiya was drunk. Naruto seemed out of place.

"Well, I'm pretty certain he knows Jiraiya," Nyoko laughed softly.

Tsunade shook her head at the image of her teammate, "Jiraiya's still the same."

"It looks like Naruto's uncomfortable though."

Nyoko turned the page and there was Naruto standing together with an older Tsunade in the Hokage office. Judging by the photo Naruto was about 12 years old.

"Wow, you still retain your youthfulness after all those years," Nyoko said.

Tsunade was shocked to see herself. She had expected it, but expecting and seeing were two very different things.

"Now we know that he knows you personally," Nyoko commented, but Tsunade didn't say anything. She was still too shock about seeing her future self.

Nyoko flipped the page and suddenly fell on her back laughing with the wallet to her waist covering the pictures.

"What is it? Let me see," Tsunade said. "Be quiet or you'll wake Naruto."

Nyoko barely managed to give Tsunade the wallet as she was still laughing her head off. Looking at the picture Tsunade quickly knew why Nyoko was laughing. The pictured showed an older Tsunade with a very beautiful, but naked girl.

_What the?_ But, then she knew what happened.

"What a pervert," Tsunade said.

"Come on, it's a clever jutsu. I bet you he made that up. It's not as good as mine though, but considering how young he is, it's still pretty good," and she started to laugh again.

Tsunade turned the picture and now she was smiling. There was a big hole in the wall and Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Nyoko looked over Tsunade's shoulders.

"Hey, where's he at?" Nyoko looked closer at the photo. "Tsunade, don't tell me you punched him through the wall. It was just a jutsu. You're so mean," Nyoko said with a frown.

"I didn't even do anything yet."

"You just punched him through the wall."

"This hasn't happened yet. It's in the future," she said.

"Well, you're going to punch him through a wall," Nyoko replied. "You big meanie."

Tsunade turned the page and saw Naruto bandaged up with a caste on his right arm and a caste on his left leg. Tsunade was trying to feed him some medicine, but apparently Naruto was still mad because he had his face turned away from her.

"Awww, that's so cute," Nyoko said as she looked at the picture.

Tsunade flipped the page and saw herself giving Naruto a peck on the cheek. Apparently Naruto had finally taken the medicine because the spoon in her hands was empty.

"Wonder how long that took? He must really like you considering you just punched him through the wall," Nyoko said.

Just then Naruto stirred a little.

"Come on, I think we've seen enough," Tsunade said to Nyoko and she nodded in agreement. They put the wallet back before heading out.

--

Seiji had returned to the Hidden Village of Cloud. He went to the Raikage office and knocked on the door.

"Come in," said the Raikage. "Ah, Seiji. Anymore good news?" the Raikage asked. Last time Seiji brought news that one of the sannins was dead.

Seiji shook his head, "Bad news actually. One of the worst news."

"Continue."

"It seems that I was mistaken when I gave that last report on the dead sannin."

"You said that Hideo was able to hit Tsunade with his blade. That poison was made from our top poison makers in the village given to you so you can take care of a worthy opponent. Are you saying that she was able to make an antidote that fast?"

"I don't believe it was her. There's no way she could have did anything. The poison acts too quickly for her to even manage to start getting any ingredients."

"Then it was the blonde shinobi?"

"I think so. Somehow I believe he was able to make an antidote to cure her. As you know from my last report I was only able to hit Tsunade. I wasn't able to hit the blond shinobi with Hideo."

"Do you think that maybe he took her back to Konoha?"

"No, he there wouldn't have been enough time even if he went straight back to Konoha. The sannin should have been dead by then."

"He must of stopped the poison somehow and managed to make an antidote," the Raikage said.

Seiji nodded.

This was frustrating for the Raikage. Just when he thought that one of the sannins was dead Seiji brings him the worst news.

"If that's all you may leave."

"That's not the worst news," Seiji said.

"What's worst than that?" the Raikage asked.

"I've figured out the true potential of the blonde shinobi."

The Raikage knew that if this was the worst news, then it could only mean one thing: the shinobi must be strong.

"He fought with 'The God of Shinobi' and was his equal."

The Raikage's eyes widen. He knew that the blonde was strong, but this strong? "Are you sure? How do you now?"

"I felt the 3rd's chakra and went to investigate. I knew that he was fighting a hard battle for him to release that much chakra," Seiji still marveled at how much chakra the 3rd put out. "As I approached the chakra signature there was a big explosion at the battleground. I knew that something had happen. I tried to find the 3rd to finish him off, but as I was looking for him a group of people had already found him. They had also found the blond. Putting the pieces together, the blond had a scruffle with the 3rd."

"Who found him?" asked Raikage.

"The White Fang, his wife, and 2 of the sannins."

_No wonder why Seiji didn't fight them._

The Raikage knew the answer already, but decided to ask anyways, "What would happen if I fought him?"

Seiji answered without any emotions, "You will die."

The Raikage laughed slightly at this straightforward answer. That was one of the qualities he liked about Seiji. The shinobi would give an his honest opinion on an outcome, "What if it was the both of us?"

"Same result."

The Raikage stood up, "Well, even strong shinobis have weaknesses. We'll just have to exploit those weaknesses. Yes, I think this is the perfect time for our plan."

"Right now?"

The Raikage nodded and turned to the window, "Do not inform our allies of the blonde's abilities."

Seiji bowed his head, "Naturally."


	14. Ch 14:Treaty

8/14/2008

Hi everyone. Thanks for the reviews. I know it doesn't matter and that I should just write if I feel like it, but I also write so that other people can enjoy it. Makes me glad to see that people are reading and enjoying it. Anyways enough of this, lets get on with the chapter. Hope you like it.

**Chapter 14:Treaty**

Naruto woke up to a room similar to the genjutsu that Nyoko put him in. Looking around he was surprised to see his team waiting for him.

"Are you okay sensei? What happened? Why were you and Hokage-sama fighting? Are you going to be a criminal now?" Arashi asked these questions all at once their sensei had his eyes focused on them.

Naruto could sense the concern in his voice, "No, it's nothing like that. We just had a little disagreement and had to settle it."

"But why did you have to settle it by fighting? One of you could have die. I was so worried. We wouldn't have been able to stop either of you," Kioko said and Naruto could see that she had tears in her eyes even though it didn't drop yet.

He grabbed Kioko put her on his lap, "It's okay, Kioko. I'm so sorry. I won't do something like that again."

Their fears started to changed in excitement now that they knew their sensei was going to be okay.

"What did you do sensei? You kept up…" Sieshin corrected himself, "no you were on equal terms with the Hokage."

Naruto just gave a weak laugh.

"Come on. Tell us, please, please, please," Arashi said. Kioko was nodding her head in agreement.

"How come we couldn't sense your chakra as much as the Hokage? I mean his chakra was huge compared to yours. How were you able to keep up with him?" Kioko asked confused.

"I was using the chakra in the environment also. So we were about equal, just that you couldn't sense mine," Naruto answered. The three went big eyed in amazement.

"Can you teach us how to do that?" Arashi asked. But Naruto already knew his answer. He didn't want his team to turn into three little tadpoles.

"Not yet. You guys aren't ready yet."

The three groaned, but knew that it was useless.

"Okay, tell us about the fight then. How come you weren't affect by the increase chakra that the Hokage was putting out? We could barely breath, not to mention we were on the floor," Arashi said.

Naruto answered honestly, "Well, you see. I was affected. It's just that I'm stronger than you guys so it looked like I was affected. It's as simple as that."

They nodded stating that they understood. Each of them vowing to get stronger.

"Okay what about the last move. I mean it looked like a Rasengan, but I can tell it was definitely a lot stronger," Kioko said.

"Yes, it's an extension of the Rasengan, called the Kazengan. You see, the Rasengan doesn't use any elements. It's pure chakra manipulation. The Kazengan adds an element to the Rasengan. That move took me a very long time to learn it."

"So, we have to learn the Rasengan first before we can learn that move?" Arashi asked.

"Yes, that's correct."

Just then there was a knock on the door and Sarutobi walked in. He was perfectly fine without any bruises or cuts and also wearing his Hokage robes.

"Can I have a word with you alone Naruto?" Sarutobi asked.

"Sure, can you guys leave us?" Naruto asked the team, but they stayed.

"What are you going to do to sensei? He didn't do anything wrong. You came to finish him off didn't you?" Kioko asked. They still haven't completely believed that Naruto was okay.

"No, that's not what I'm here for," said Sarutobi very nicely giving a small laugh.

Naruto looked at his team, "It's okay team. We're just going to chat, that's all."

They left the room giving Sarutobi a look of warning that if he does try anything on Naruto he would pay.

"Your team really likes you. They were willing to fight me," Sarutobi said as the team left.

"So, what's up? I can see that your all healed," Naruto said.

"Yes, I had the medical nins heal me. I told them to let your wounds heal naturally," Sarutobi said.

Naruto was ashamed of himself for damaging Sarutobi that much. He knew that Sarutobi probably lost a few years because of the fast healing, "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? That was the best time I've had in a long time," Sarutobi was grinning.

"Well, back to our deal. I expect you to erase my memory when you're well."

Surprised at what he heard Naruto yelled, "What, screw you!? You didn't beat me."

"Neither did you," Sarutobi said calmly.

"Exactly so you get to keep that memory," Naruto said.

Sarutobi shook his head with a small smile, "Think back to what I said."

Naruto thought for a minute and he pulled Sarutobi's words from his memory, _if you win I'll keep the memory, no questions ask. If you don't win then you have to erase the memory and promise never to mention it again._

"You tricked me," Naruto said.

Sarutobi looked like a little child who was caught doing something wrong, "No, I didn't. It's not my fault you weren't listening. I expect you to come to my office when you're ready." He stood up without an answer and left.

Naruto slammed his fist on the wall in anger when Sarutobi left.

As Sarutobi left another person came in. This time it was Tsunade. She was in a nurse outfit with a stethoscope.

"Hello Naruto."

"Oh hi Tsunade," he said a little to harsh. He was still angry with Sarutobi.

She checked put the stethoscope on his heart and she could tell it was fine, "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing."

Tsunade looked at him. It was weird talking to him, now that she knew about his past. Plus, her guilt about invading his past also didn't help much.

It was Naruto who spoke up, "Tsunade, can you heal me?"

Tsunade shook her head, "Sorry, but sensei told me to let you heal naturally."

Naruto groaned.

"Sensei also told me to watch over you."

_I see, he didn't station Tsunade to watch over me. He wants to know when I'm healed so he'll know if I went to him directly or not_. The rage inside of him began to build again.

Tsunade knew that something was wrong with him, "Are you mad at me? I'm sorry by the way I acted when we got back from the mountains."

This thought didn't even cross his mind, "No, Tsunade it's not you."

"If it's not me then what's bothering you?"

It was a minute before Naruto spoke up. "It's that damn Sarutobi. I want to fucking punch his lights out right now," Naruto said harshly.

This was the first time Tsunade heard him swear, "Sensei?"

"Yes. I want to strangle him," Naruto said and Tsunade could see his hands shaking from anger.

"But, he was just in here talking with you."

"Exactly."

"You want to kill him?" Tsunade asked.

"No, I just want to knock him out cold. Stupid fool doesn't know what's good for him," Naruto clenched his fist.

Tsunade started to leave. It was clear to her that Naruto wanted to think to himself.

--

It has been three days and Tsunade was checking on him regularly. They didn't talk much during the check up because she felt weird talking to him after finding out his past. He didn't start any conversation with her because he was too busy thinking of a plan. She just checked his pulse, his forehead, and injuries every few hours or so.

"All of your major injuries are heal. You'll be able to go home tomorrow, but you shouldn't be doing any hard activities until the day after tomorrow," she told him.

"Thanks," Naruto replied.

When she left Naruto got up quietly, grabbed his shirt and pants on the chair, and started to dress. He did a few hand seals, "Summoning no jutsu" and Gamakicki popped into existence. Naruto did a few more hand seals, "Henge" and Gamakicki turned into Naruto.

"Gamakicki you have to stay here in my place in case Tsunade comes and check," Naruto said and the frog nodded. Unlike clones, a summon does not disappear if they're too far away from their summoner.

Naruto knew that if Tsunade came and did a check-up she would know right away because a frog's heartbeat is different from a human's. It is slower and a frog's heart only has three chambers unlike a human who has a four-chamber heart, but it will still give him some time. He quietly opened the window and left.

_I'll have to find Orochimaru and kill him myself. I can play that game also, Sarutobi. We never agreed on when I'll tell you. You just wanted me to erase it ASAP, but during the deal we never had a time limit. I'll just kill Orochimaru first then come back and erase your memory_. He didn't care if the whole village would be after him or the fact that he would be a class S missing nin. Sarutobi's life was more important to him than his. Sarutobi was the one who gave him a chance to have friends. He was the one who protected him from the grown-ups when he was a child. Sarutobi was the one who watched over him. He was the one who never punished him even when he was out of line.

Naruto thought back to all the files that he's examined when he was the Hokage and knew that the place was not far from the village.

Traveling for about an hour he reached a place where a huge waterfall was located. There were bright green trees surrounding him and a small river rushing back into the village.

_It's here, somewhere_. He jumped behind the waterfall to look for an entrance, but nothing was there. The water splash on hit head as he continued to look for the entrance. Naruto did a few hand seals, "Kage Bunshin," and 20 clones popped out.

"Alright guys, we're looking for an entrance. It can be anything so I want some to look in the river and behind the waterfall," Naruto told his clones.

After 15 minutes he heard a clone yell out, "I think I've got something."

Naruto went over there and there was a small opening in the trunks of one of the trees.

"Good, I think this is it. Good work all of you," and he dismissed them.

He squeezed himself into the small opening dropped down twenty feet. It was pitch black and completely silence expect for the few drops of water that hit the floor. The tunnel was built in a zigzag manner and he immediately knew why. It was built for an easy escape. If a person were followed it would be harder to hit that person with a jutsu if the tunnel was built in a zigzag manner. As he continued to walk the tunnel became darker and darker. After thirty minutes he the tunnel became straight and was now illuminated with light bulbs that was attach to the ceiling. Also, the tunnel wasn't earth anymore; it was metal. Naruto walked and walked until he saw a door. He took out his kunai and slowly turned the door handle. He opened the room ready to attack Orochimaru…

But, Orochimaru wasn't there. The room held jars of human heads. There were animal flesh all over the ground and the smell was excruciating. Standing there was Sarutobi in his shinobi uniform and his summon Enma with two dead shinobis on the ground. Sarutobi had his back to Naruto and was kneeling on the floor with Enma looking over his shoulders.

"Naruto, this fool let Orochimaru escape," Enma said and Naruto could tell that Enma was angry.

"Where did he go?" Naruto asked.

"Hurry, if you go you might be able to catch him right now. He left about an hour ago. I think he's trying to leave the border of Fire Country," Enma told him.

Naruto nodded and left the room. Again fury rose within Naruto when he thought about Sarutobi, _damn you Sarutobi. Even after I told you, you still couldn't do it._

There wasn't much time left and Naruto knew it. Orochimaru had to be caught and killed before he escaped. Running back out of the tunnel took a lot less time than going in. The thought of what would happen if he failed and his anger at Sarutobi fueled him. When he got outside he did a few hand seals again, "Kage Bunshin."

"This time look for any evidence of a person trying to leave," Naruto told them. He knew that Orochimaru was in a hurry to leave and that means there would be a higher chance of finding evidence.

After five minutes a clone came up to him, "There's some misshapen sand on the ground south of here."

"Okay," and he followed the clone. Naruto looked closely at the misshapen sand. It was hard to tell if it was a footprint or not, but it was his only lead. He dismissed the clones and started traveling south.

--

Orochimaru and Jiraiya were twenty feet from each other. Lavish green trees surrounding them.

"Why… why are you… we, who are called the 'sannin'… we have been companions since we were children, haven't we?" Jiraiya said exhausted. His body was completely bloody and was down to one knee.

"Jiraiya, you were also a simple person. I look for more grandeur," Orochimaru said smirking at him.

"Think again about what you're doing… Orochimaru…" Jiraiya pleaded.

"Pitiful," Orochimaru threw a kunai at Jiraiya.

Just then another kunai came out of the trees blocking the kunai. Naruto jumped in front of Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru."

Orochimaru gave his annoying chuckle, "Oh, Naruto-kun. What brings you here?"

"I've come to kill you."

He felt someone pulling the back of his shirt.

"No, Naruto. He's just not thinking correctly."

Naruto was amazed, "He just tried to kill you!"

"He's my friend," Jiraiya said.

"Do friends injure their companions? Look at your condition," Naruto said disbelieving that Jiraiya was this thick.

"He's not in his right mind. I can bring him back," Jiraiya insisted.

"No you can't. He's gone Jiraiya. Only a fool would try something like that," Naruto said.

"I don't care what you say. I know he's not your friend. If I'm a fool for trying to bring him back then so be it," Jiraiya told Naruto. The whole conversation brought back memories of when he was younger. _Sasuke was different from Orochimaru though._

Orochimaru laughed, "He's right Jiraiya. I've been planning this for the longest time. But, Naruto-kun I don't think that you will be killing me today. That is, if you want to save Jiraiya. You won't have enough time to kill me and save him. We're too far out in the Fire Country. You have to bring him back to Konoha for medical treatment. He's losing too much blood. The choice is yours."

"Too bad we couldn't be better friends Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said. He turned around and jumped onto a tree.

Naruto was about to follow, but he knew that Orochimaru was right. Knowing that killing Orochimaru would take him quite a bit of time he had two choices. Either he kills Orochimaru and save Sarutobi, thus leaving Jiraiya dead or save Jiraiya and let Orochimaru free thus letting Sarutobi die later. Closing his eyes tight in anger and hating the choice he had to make he put Jiraiya on his shoulders and started to travel home as fast as he could.

When he reached the hospital Tsunade was surprised to see that Naruto wasn't on his bed. She was even more surprised to see her partner all bloody and unconscious.

"Tsunade, he's losing too much blood. We have to save him," Naruto said.

Tsunade nodded, "Put him on the stretcher."

About half a dozen medical nins also came to Tsunade's side.

"You have to wait in the waiting room Naruto. I'm sorry."

Naruto nodded.

When Tsunade came back Naruto immediately got up.

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he just lost a lot of blood that's all. Nothing major," Tsunade said wiping the sweat off her forehead. She pushed Naruto back on the chair and sat next to him.

"What happened? Who did this to him?" She asked.

"It was Orochimaru," Naruto answered and he could tell that Tsunade was surprised by this news. He didn't know if she would believe him.

It took a moment before Tsunade spoke up, "I've always sensed he would do something like this. When my little brother died he didn't show any remorse. Unlike Jiraiya he looked pleased to see the glory. It was unnerving. That's why I was never close to him. Jiraiya and I got along well considering we fight and argue a lot, but I never tried to get close to Orochimaru after that. I've never fought with him or argue with him. I just pretended he doesn't exist."

Just as he was about to say something an ANBU wearing a goat mask came into the hospital.

"Are you Naruto?" He asked.

"Yes, I am," Naruto answered.

"The Hokage requests your presence in his office," the ANBU replied.

Naruto nodded and turned to Tsunade, "I'll come back as soon as I can."

Naruto reached the office and went in.

"Naruto, I'm glad you're okay," Sarutobi said.

"What?" Naruto asked abruptly. He was still mad at Sarutobi's decision.

Sarutobi smiled, "You're angry at me aren't you? Let's hear what you have to say first so that you'll listen to what I've got to say."

"Fine! Why the hell did you let him off KNOWING that he will kill you later!? I haven't even erased your memory yet. You knew he's going to kill you and you still let him survive after seeing the evidence. Damn you Sarutobi! You don't know how much I want to strangle you for your stupidity. He WILL kill you later. I couldn't kill him because Jiraiya was injured and I had to take him back to the hospital before he bled to death," Naruto was heaving.

"You're correct Naruto. I did know he's going to kill me later. I saw the evidence in the room. He was using shinobis for experiments. After you told me Orochimaru would kill me I linked his strange behavior to the missing shinobis."

He was interrupted by Naruto, "Then why didn't you kill him!?"

Sarutobi turned his chair so that it he was turned away from Naruto, "I raised him when he was a child. I couldn't do it even after knowing what he will become."

"He's going to kill you," Naruto said without any emotions.

"Yes, I know that. When that time comes I'll be gone," Sarutobi said.

"That's it? You're willing to accept your death."

Sarutobi turned his chair around to face Naruto and Naruto was surprised to see a smile on his face, "Yes, but like you said I'll be an old man so it won't be that bad. Quick and easy right?"

"This isn't funny Sarutobi. You know he almost killed Jiraiya right? If I wasn't there he would have."

"How did Jiraiya feel about it?" Sarutobi asked interested.

"Like a fool. He wants to bring Orochimaru back," Naruto clenched his fist.

"Yes, that's exactly like Jiraiya," Sarutobi said.

"You acted like a fool too," Naruto said.

"I did," Sarutobi agreed. "Sometimes I let my emotions get in the way of my thinking. I always cared for everyone."

"But he will kill hundreds of shinobis later on," Naruto argued.

"But, this will lead you to become Hokage and you will save hundreds if not thousands of lives," Sarutobi reminded him.

Naruto shook his head in disagreement still wanting to knock the lights out of Sarutobi.

Sarutobi sensed this. "Fighting again won't get us anywhere."

He let Naruto blow off some steam before continuing, "Let's get to more pressing matters."

"What? You still want me to erase the memory?" Naruto asked angrily.

"I don't think it matters now," Sarutobi answered.

"You called me for something else then?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," Sarutobi said. "We've received a letter from the Hidden Village of Cloud. They want to offer a peace treaty. I need you to accompany me to the neutral territory to meet with the other Kages. I will send a message to my advisors and we can meet there."

He still wanted to talk about Sarutobi's stupidity, but it was apparent that Sarutobi didn't. He was crossing his arms, "Do you think it can be a trick or a trap?"

"It could be," Sarutobi said. "That's why I need you to come along. The other Kages will bring other shinobis to accompany them. It could be a trap."

"What if they decide to attack the village while we're gone?"

"The shinobis here can take care of that. I will call a meeting later on today telling the jounins and chuunins the details. They know to be on full alert when I'm not here. There will be fewer patrols of course. If I don't take you, I'll have to take more shinobis than necessary to accompany me."

Naruto understood. He needed eyes in the village to watch for intruders when he's at this meeting. His strength would mean that Sarutobi would only need one person.

"I understand," Naruto said.

"Good, we're to leave tomorrow morning. Get a good night's rest and I know I don't have to tell you this but, be prepared for anything."

Early the next morning Naruto got up and went to Tsunade's house.

knock, knock

Tsunade opened the door. She was already dress in her jounin outfit, "Hey, what's up?" she asked casually.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Naruto asked.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, you know that Sarutobi's meeting with the other Kages right?"

She nodded.

"He asked me to go. Since I won't be here I was just wondering if you can watch out for my team in case something happens?" Naruto asked. His first option was Jiraiya, but he knew that Jiraiya always sleeps late. The only other person he felt comfortable asking was Tsunade and he knew she always wakes up early unless she was drinking the night before.

"Sure, no problem," she answered.

"Okay, thanks. I owe you a ton," Naruto said as he left.

After that he went to Sarutobi's office.

"Ready to go?" Sarutobi asked him. He was wearing his white Hokage outfit, but Naruto knew he was wearing his gear underneath.

Naruto nodded.

"I've already told the chuunins and jounins to be on guard. Also, we'll be traveling by carriage," by Sarutobi's voice Naruto could tell that Sarutobi didn't like the prospect.

"You hate that don't you?" Naruto asked knowing the answer already.

"Yes, it's slow and I would rather go on foot. I've insisted on paying them without doing any work, but they say that a Hokage must go in fashion. I hate being a Hokage sometimes," Sarutobi sighed.

They reached the carriage. It was pearl black and it was so shiny that Naruto couldn't look at it for more than a couple of seconds. The black wooden wheels were so huge that it towered above Naruto and Sarutobi. Pulling the carriages were a dozen black horses with a conductor sitting in a pearl white seat.

Sarutobi sighed, "See, told you didn't I?"

Naruto just shook his head and got inside.

"Where are we meeting?" Naruto asked.

"In a small town in the River Country. They're neutral right now," Sarutobi answered.

Naruto decided to changed the subject, "Do you think the other Kages might do something?"

"I don't think so because the River Country is located at a strategic location for transportation. They have always stated that if there's a ruckus on their land they would block transportation for all parties and no one would be able to get through. But, like I said you never know."

It took them three days to reach the small town of Kasui. He and Sarutobi pass time by discussing various ways of learning and using ninjutsu.

Naruto got out of the carriage and was amazed as he looked at the small town. There were neon lights on every doorframe. Every single house looked like it was a shop for some kind of merchandise whether it be for adult interests, food, or children's toys.

"Because of its location Kasui is a tourist attraction. Every house is a shop," Sarutobi told Naruto. Just then two shinobis jumped beside Sarutobi.

"Naruto, these are my former teammate Homura and Koharu. They're advisors now."

"Don't call us advisors. It makes us look older than you," the Homura said.

"We're still Konoha shinobis," replied Koharu.

"So this is the young shinobi you've been talking about," the Homura asked changing the subject.

"Yes, this is him," Sarutobi answered.

"Rumors been floating around that you got your butt whoop," the Koharu said to Sarutobi. _Goddamn rumor flies fast during this time_, Naruto thought.

"I didn't lose. It was a tie."

"Are you losing your touch Sarutobi? I think that I might be running for your title soon," the man said while looking at Naruto. Naruto could tell that he was assessing him.

Sarutobi shook his head, "No, he's that strong."

"Interesting, I might have to see for myself."

"You'll lose," Sarutobi said quickly.

"Really?" the man said unconvinced.

"Look, we didn't come here to assess how strong Naruto is. We came here to meet up with the other Kages," Sarutobi said abruptly.

The four went to the biggest building in town. It was located on the northern part of town away from all the stores and other houses. It exterior was blue with a red roof and it had an old Japanese style to it. It reminded Naruto of Sasuke's old house. They opened the door and there was already three Kages each with three or four shinobis behind them. There were water paintings on the wall of all sorts of animals from swans to alligators. The three Kages were kneeling on the floor with pillows underneath them. There was a small table in the middle of the room.

The three lowered their head slightly to Sarutobi when he walked in.

"Glad you can make it Sarutobi," from his symbol on his hat Naruto knew this to be the Raikage.

Sarutobi nodded, "So you've called for this meeting Izanami?"

The Raikage nodded, but he was looking at Naruto. _So this is the person who's been thwarting us_.

"Yes, but first why don't we introduce our escorts. This is Seiji," he pointed to the small eye shinobi in back of him. Naruto had met him once before. "This is Arisu," he pointed to a young female shinobi. She had emerald green hair and eyes. She was a little young, but Naruto knew better than to underestimate the young. She didn't look mean and as cold hearted as the other shinobis surrounding her. "Lastly this is Mitsuo," and he pointed to the last person behind him, a tall shinobi towering everyone in the room. Naruto could tell he was the silent and obedient type. The other Kages also introduced their companions.

Sarutobi knew why the Raikage wanted the introduction. He wanted Naruto's name. It didn't matter though because he wouldn't get any information considering Naruto comes from the future.

"Sure, this is Naruto," Sarutobi said looking at the Raikage for a reaction. "These two are my teammates Homura and Koharu."

The door opened and a beautiful young lady was balancing a plate on her head. She walked in and placed the plate containing a pot of tea and some cups on the table.

"Might as well get comfortable," the Raikage said. He grabbed a cup and poured each of the shinobi a cup of tea. Every single shinobi observed the Raikage pouring the tea.

The tension in the room rose as no one drank the tea. Naruto knew what was happening. Shinobis do not drink anything when a known enemy is in the room.

"Let's get on with the meeting," Sarutobi said.

"Yes, I want to offer a peace treaty," the Raikage said. The other two Kages turned slightly away from the Raikage as he said this.

"Why the sudden change?" Sarutobi asked.

"If you've been keeping up with the death count you know that both sides have lost a tremendous amount of shinobis. If this continues all four nations would lose too much strength and the smaller nations might begin a movement against us. It is more important to keep the smaller nations in check or every shinobi village might be in a war," the Raikage said.

When Sarutobi didn't say anything the Raikage continued, "The Hidden Village of Cloud will give the Hidden Village of Fire some of our land," the two other Kages snarled. "We will also help pay 20 of the damage to done to the Hidden Village of Leaf."

The Raikage took out a map and drew a new border in the southern most part of the Lightning. "This land will become Konoha's land," he said.

Sarutobi looked at the other two Kages, "And what about you two?"

"I do not agree with the Raikage. The Hidden Village of Rock will not be giving Konoha any of our land nor are we going to help any damage that happened in Konoha," the Kage said.

"We, of the Hidden Village of Sand, are in the same position as the Rock Kage," the Kage said and there was menace in his voice.

"Fine, I'll have to think about this," Sarutobi said and they all left the room.

They four Leaf ninjas found a hotel to stay at to discuss the matter. The room was quiet small. They intentionally got a small room so that they could spend less time checking for audio devices and more time discussing the matter at hand.

"What do you think?" Sarutobi asked.

"I don't know. I don't trust him. He knows that we're in more trouble than he is. I know why he wants a brief stop, but he's offering too much to our side," Sarutobi's partner comment.

"He is right though. If this continues the smaller villages might start rebelling against the five nations. Also remember that one of the five nations isn't involved in this war yet. They might decide to join the fray at the last minute and claim victory for themselves if the other nations are falling apart. This can escalate the war even more," Kohura said.

"What do you think Naruto?" Sarutobi asked already knowing his answer.

"I think you should accept even if it's a dodgy. You said that we're low on shinobis correct? Let's use this time to rebuild Konoha's strength. I know that's what they'll be doing also, since our program is better considering our shinobis are a little bit better, it'll be an advantage for us," Naruto said.

Sarutobi nodded, it was exactly what he was thinking.

"Alright, it's settle then."

--

The two of them were in a different hotel. The walls were completely black and there wasn't a window in sight. Each was sitting on a chair with a table separating them.

"Do you think they bought it?" Seiji asked the Raikage.

"It doesn't matter. The plan is in motion already," the Raikage answered.

"How did you know the Hokage would bring the blonde?" Seiji asked interested.

The Raikage studied Seiji for a minute, "I know how Sarutobi thinks. He likes to bring the least amount of protection. Sarutobi wants to protect his village more than himself. That's why he brought the blonde."

"But the blonde's as strong as him," Seiji commented.

"Exactly. Sarutobi knew that we would be bringing many shinobis to this meeting. If he didn't decide to bring the blonde he would have needed to bring more shinobis with him, which would mean less people watching the village. Even though the blonde's strong he only has two eyes so therefore it would make sense to only bring him along. This insures his survival and it stops any attack that might happen when he's gone."

"You said that he cares more about the village than himself. Why not just leave the blonde to protect the village and bring just one other guest instead?"

The Raikage shook his head, "Even if he brought someone like 'the White Fang' or a sannin he knows that he might not survive if we decide to attack him. With the blonde's strength it assures his survival."

"But, you just said he cares more about the village than his survival," Seiji said.

"Yes, that's correct. You're thinking about it this wrong way. You're thinking that his survival and the protection of the village as two different things when in reality it's actually linked. He cares for his survival, but not in the same way as you and me. He cares for his survival because if he falls the village would be in greater danger than it already is."

"The other Kages don't like it that you didn't inform them of this move," Seiji said calmly changing the subject.

"Who gives a shit about them? They have to follow what we do because it's us who is using the most shinobis against Konoha. If we pull out they'll have to also," the Raikage answered.

"If the plan is successful?" Seiji asked.

"Then I'll just tell the other Kages that it was just a fake treaty and for them to rejoin us so we can crush Konoha," the Raikage answered.

"Do you think they'll rejoin?" Seiji asked.

"They won't be happy, but they'll rejoin. They hate Konoha more than we do," the Raikage answered quietly.

"What about the plan? Do you think it worked?"

"I'm certain it worked. I've put our top stealth shinobis on this mission, excluding you because it would be too obvious if you didn't show up here alongside me," the Raikage said nodding his head to Seiji.

"But if it doesn't work?" Seiji asked.

The Raikage sighed, "If it doesn't work then we'll use the time to rebuild our strength and attack later. I didn't lie in that conference, we have lost quite a few of shinobis. Because we're using the most shinobis against Konoha, we're also the ones who lost the most strength. You already know that Konoha didn't lose as many shinobis when compared to us. The Village of Rock and Sand lost quite a few, but it's still nothing compared to us."

"They'll be rebuilding their strength also," Seiji said.

"Yes, but their training is quite different from ours. They value quality over quantity, not to say that we don't have any quality shinobis. It's just that they have more, there's no denying that. It's partly because of our different training styles. In our training we try to teach the shinobis the basics as fast as possible so that we can have many shinobis at our disposal. We also try to teach as many shinobis as we can with each jounin instructor. In Konoha there are only three genins per jounin instructor. This type of teaching lets them focus more on quality, but it also takes more time and it's a risk. Even when Konoha loses a genin, it's a serious blow because they've invested a lot of time in that genin. For us, losing a genin isn't that big of a deal since they're easily replaceable. If we attack before the quality can shape itself then we'll have the advantage. We cannot let them build up the future generations. So, if this plan fails we have to attack before the next generation rises or we'll be at a disadvantage. But, if this plans succeeds then Konoha would have received a huge blow and we can recommence attack immediately."

"I understand," Seiji said.

--

The next day they all met in the same room again and signed the treaty.

"Good. I think we should have the celebration in Konoha to celebrate this treaty. What time would be best for you Sarutobi?" the Raikage asked.

"A month to prepare everything," Sarutobi answered.

"Next month it is then. Let us know if you need any help preparing the celebration," the Raikage said.

Sarutobi nodded.

The four Kages shook each other's hand, but before he left the Raikage went up to Naruto.

"Glad to have met you," he said with his hand sticking out for Naruto to shake.

Naruto hesitated, but took it, "Pleasures all mine." He held Naruto's hand for a bit longer than necessary.

"Okay, I guess it's time to go. I'm glad this war is over," the Raikage said.

Naruto and Sarutobi decided to travel back home on foot instead of the carriage while Sarutobi's teammate took the carriage.

"Do you think he'll keep his words?" Naruto asked as they were traveling through the woods.

"I don't know. The Hidden Village of Cloud has lost a lot of shinobis. They've lost the most strength if you're just counting individual villages. They'll be rebuilding of course. Maybe for an attack sometime later," Sarutobi said.

"You don't think this war has ended then?" Naruto asked.

Sarutobi shook his head, "Not with him in charge. He's always wanted to be on top. The Raikage sees Konoha as the strongest out of the five nations."

"But, you said that we have the least amount of shinobis when compared to the other nations. How can he consider Konoha the strongest?" Naruto asked.

"Not military might. The Raikage see us as the strongest because everyone is always forming alliances to take Konoha down. He wants to be the one that everyone's after. He wants to be the one that other nations are forming alliances against. To him that means that's the meaning of the strongest village."

"And the other villages?" Naruto asked.

"It's the same thing," Sarutobi answered. "They're fighting to be the strongest. Right now they see Konoha as the strongest even though we have the fewest shinobis."

It took them two days to reach Konoha. Naruto bid Sarutobi farewell and went home.

When he walked in the door he saw a small piece of paper on top of his kitchen table. He went over to pick it up and it said:

We have your team. You will find us at the Southern most edge of the Cloud Country. A map is on the back of his paper. Come alone and do not tell anyone else or your team will be killed. There will be many shinobis surrounding you when you reach the checkpoint to ensure that you are indeed by yourself. They have been instructed not to attack unlessf they are attacked themselves.

Naruto turned the paper over and a rage unlike anything he felt before started to course through his veins. He grabbed the table and threw it against the wall. It broke into a dozen pieces.

"FUCK!!" He punched the wall leaving a huge hole.

After tearing up his place he calmed himself down and began thinking to himself.

_Should I tell Sarutobi? No, I can't, Sarutobi will definitely send a team or ANBU with me. This will cause my team to be killed instantly. I have to go alone. It will be a trap, but there's no other choice._


End file.
